


A Perfect World

by Eternal_Love_Song



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Betrayal, Chaos, Character Study, Cheating, Crystal Tokyo Era, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Introspection, Mind Control, POV Multiple, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-12 12:41:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 52,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5666464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Love_Song/pseuds/Eternal_Love_Song
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the world, people always strive for perfection. The people of Crystal Tokyo are no different. But the citizens are just people, the palace is just a house, and the king and queen are merely husband and wife. Usagi learns that not even a world gilded in crystal can be perfect, but she still finds something beautiful to hold on to. [Neo Queen Serenity/Usagi] x Diamond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lock Me Up Inside

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place a few decades after the creation of Crystal Tokyo. It was just something that has been stuck in my head for a while so I decided to go ahead a try to write it. 
> 
> First, it should be known that Nemesis is just another planet and the people there were not banished from Earth. Second, none of the things involving the Black Moon Clan or Chibi-Usa happened to this Sailor Moon/Neo Queen Serenity in this timeline, so there is no pre-established bad blood.

  **In the world, people always strive for perfection, even if perfection always falls short. The people of Crystal Tokyo are no different. The citizens are just people, the palace is just a house, and the king and queen are merely husband and wife. In many ways, it is the normalcy that brings the flaws.**

Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion stood on a large platform addressing their people. A few guards stood on either side of the platform, but it wasn't at all necessary. The people of Crystal Tokyo were not a threat and it had been years since a youma had gotten into the city, but precautions made people feel safer. Guards put people at ease, something especially needed with the current topic of conversation.

"Let me assure all of you, the people on Nemesis are not a threat to our kingdom." Serenity's voice rang out clear and strong through the microphone. "I will not lie to you: they do not bare warm feeling towards us, but there is no need to fear war."

"We are keeping a safe eye on them, but they have yet to make any moves to suggest war," Endymion added. "For now, there is no reason to fear."

The two returned to the palace once their conference was done, moving to the inner halls. One of the senshi ran down the hall towards them excitedly. "King Endymion!" Mars called out, smiling at the king intimately. It was a moment before she noticed that her queen was also there. "Neo Queen Serenity!" The senshi of fire quickly dropped to one knee, bowing her head towards her queen. "I did not see you. I wanted to congratulate the two of you on your speech. It was very well received."

"Thank you, Mars," Serenity said. "You know, I have grown to truly admire you. Please, stand. There is no need to be so formal."

Mars stood with a cautious look on her face. She avoided Serenity's eyes without meaning to, one hand fidgeting behind her back. "Admire me, my queen?"

Serenity turned from the pair before she spoke. "Your ability for pretense merely overwhelms me," she whispered as she walked away from the two. She walked slowly at first, the way a proper queen would, but it was not long before she began to sprint. She went to the crystal garden that was located behind the palace. In this garden, which was one of many gardens that existed around or near the palace, stood every flower that grew on earth, frozen in crystal, each flower in various states of bloom or budding. This place had become a refuge for her over the years. The king preferred his roses and almost never walked among her crystal creations. But they comforted her in a way that almost nothing did nowadays. The garden was beautiful and unwilting... perfect, maybe. Some flowers, she had come to realize, were more beautiful in budding.

Serenity collapsed upon a bench, fighting to reign in her emotions and it was a few moments before she noticed that she was not alone. Standing among her frozen flowers, silver hair and white suit matching her perfectly amid the clear and almost colorless backdrop that the garden provided, was the crowned prince of Nemesis, Prince Diamond, with his violet eyes trained on her.

"Diamond," she said softly in acknowledgment. She straightened up as she did so, half a formality and half a conscious effort to hide the outburst of emotion he'd most certainly already seen.

"Serenity," he replied in greeting. He moved to sit on the bench beside her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

"I almost thought that you would not come," she said softly. She looked away as she tried to contain her sorrow.

"What is wrong, Serenity?" Diamond asked as her, voice as gentle as she had been.

"This... All of this..." She sighed. "That my Utopia, my perfect world, turned out like this. Sometimes I just... just can't stand it."

"If it were up to me, you would have your perfect world," Diamond told her.

"Hold your tongue and watch your wishes," she replied to him. "You never know what you will get with wishes like that. It is true that if the world were perfect now, you would be by my side. But if the world had been perfect then, I would still be happy with him."

"Did something happen?"

"It just makes me sick sometimes," Serenity choked out. "I have to fight everyday, every minute, to act like I'm alright. To act like things are normal. It takes so much effort just to smile sometimes, or just not to cry, and she acts like everything is normal. Like nothing is wrong. Like she isn't sleeping with my husband!" Serenity's voice became quieter towards the end of her speech, though the pain and passion in her voice intensified.

Diamond squeezed her hand. "I know what it's like to have to be strong for your people," he told her.

"It just hurts so much, Diamond. I have never betrayed our vows. Not one touch, not one kiss that did not belong to him, and he gives everything to my best friend in our bed!" Tears fell from her eyes. It was the first time she had said it out loud. She'd hinted to it, and Diamond already knew about the affair, but the words had never left her lips. She just could not utter it. Not to her friends, not to her family, not even to Diamond. Not before this moment. She had finally started to crack. Thinking of all the years that she'd known. Wondering how many more she had been blind. Maybe it had all started when she was still a senshi. The thought threatened to make her ill.

Diamond placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face to his, looking into the depths of her eyes. He loved her and he wanted her to know it, to see it, even if it changed nothing, even if it resolved nothing. And she did know it. Had known it, but she just couldn't allow herself to embrace the feeling. Not before, when hope still lingered in her mind. Hope that Endymion would return to her heart and all, hope that he would stop violating their bed, hope that he would seek forgiveness, but he had not. And Diamond had been by her side comforting her, listening to her, becoming her closest friend, never pushing her.

She allowed her head to fall upon his shoulder, taking  comfort in the feel of him. Yes, she loved Diamond, but she still did not know if she should let herself indulge the feeling. It couldn't be right, could it? Just because he had steeped out on her didn't mean that she had the right to do the same. But there was nothing else to do, was there? She would stand by Endymion for her people. They needed to see their rulers strong together. There was nothing else to be done about it.

"My Queen! My Queen, are you here?" The call was still far away, but she could tell it was Venus calling her.

Serenity broke away from him quickly. Her marital life was a secret. A secret that she held very tightly. Serenity had been too ashamed to tell anyone of her husband's adultery, too determined not to crack before her people. She had not been so naive as to bear a child in a loveless marriage, however, and she still had a hole in her heart that part of her knew should be filled.

"I'm here, Venus!" Serenity called. She dropped her voice to a whisper and spoke to Diamond. "Will you stay?"

"I should return to Nemesis," he told her regretfully. "I will be waiting for word from you. We should speak."

"Yes," she nodded.

He stepped around a corner and she saw the slight flash of his magic as he teleported away.

"There you are, Usagi," Venus said as she ran over to her. "You disappeared after you left the stage."

"I didn't mean to worry you, Minako. Were you searching for me long?" Serenity held a smile on her face. Of all the senshi, she was closest to Minako. Even though Venus was always a soldier and Serenity a queen, Minako and Usagi were still friends. Whenever they were alone, they liked to remember that they were still friends outside of their destiny.

"Not too long," Venus answered. "Whenever I need to find you, I know to look here first." Venus paused a moment. "Hey..." Her smile faded as she looked more closely at her queen and friend. Venus reached out a hand to Serenity's face, lightly touching her cheek. "Your eyes are all red."

"It's nothing," Serenity lied, moving her face out of Venus' hands. "How are the others? Mercury and Jupiter?"

"Ugh. Mercury's been locked up with her books all week on some discovery or another," Venus replied with an eye roll. "And Jupiter has started flirting with the new recruits. She's absolutely shameless."

"I don't remember you being so virtuous," Serenity giggled. "I forget how much I miss you all."

"It's only been a week," Venus laughed in return. "But at least you're starting to sound like yourself. I was worried there for a second."

"Being a queen is a lot more difficult than I used to think it would be," Serenity admitted quietly. Her eyes focused on the ground a moment, avoiding Venus' gaze as she spoke a truth more heavy than her friend would realize.

"Well, at least you aren't alone. Endymion is going through the same thing, right?" Venus replied.

She felt a small stab of pain remembering that the person that she should have been able to rely on the most, that should have been by her side, had betrayed her. That her best friend had betrayed her. She didn't answer, but Venus went on.

"Let's have a meeting with all the girls, today! Like old times."

A feeling of paralysis settled inside her, anticipating having to look Mars in the eyes. Serenity had to force her enthusiasm a little, though she did wish to see her friends. "Will you get everyone together? Talk over cake?"

"Sure. Just give me an hour," Venus promised before running off.

A tear slid down Serenity's check as she watched Venus' retreating form. She pressed her hand to her face, as if she could physically stave off more tears from falling.

**In a perfect world, you didn't lie to your friends and your friends didn't sleep with your husband.**


	2. How It Feels Without

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi remembers how she got to this point and has lunch with her senshi.

_The ballroom was decorated in rich colors, making the dark shades that covered most of the planet seem like a pleasant backdrop rather than a dismal, barren landscape. Thick curtains of royal blue and deep purples hung on the walls and draped from the ceiling, and she was slightly astounded at the effect. Of all the ten planets that Serenity had visited, Nemesis was the most wonderous to her, turning what would be a sorrowful sight on Earth to a seductive scene._

_"Neo Queen Serenity, it is an honor that you would grace my humble planet with your visit." The Prince of Nemesis bowed before her respectfully._

_Serenity executed a curtsy of her own as she saw the dark prince. "I am the one that is honored to be allowed on your planet," she said. "I've only just become queen after all. I have to visit all the planets to try and keep up good relations with them." After a moment, Serenity placed her hand firmly over her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh, I probably shouldn't have said all that, should I?"_

_"The honesty is refreshing," Diamond told her. "All of the planets are trying to establish themselves now, but if you listen to a word they say, they'll have you believe nothing has changed from the days of old."_

_Serenity was too kind to acknowledge that he was right. It had been a tiresome process, and certainly not one that she'd gone through alone, but over the years she had helped to restore the other planets. It was one of the last things she'd done as a sailor senshi. Galaxia had been able to restore a numerous amount of star seeds within the solar system, and she'd found that not all life had been destroyed with the moon. Some had been preserved in a state of stasis, slumbering on the moons of the planet they once served. It was a slow and exhausting process to restore all the planets, and each senshi helped with the restoration of their own planets especially._

_They were all princesses, after all, and all had a right to rule over their own planets if they desired. Or what was left of their planets. But they all had a duty as senshi and decided to uphold that duty. Her inner senshi had returned to Earth with her and the outer senshi had taken up their respective posts on the outskirts of the Solar system. It had only been a few years since then, a decade at most, and already they seemed to have forgotten their debt to the third planet. Serenity chose not to let it bother her, however._

_Pulling her mind back to the present, she looked around the ballroom. She had been told that Nemesis was a poor planet, but she did not see any signs of poverty in this room. It looked like a normal party with proper dress and decorations. Nemesis was the only planet she had absolutely no involvement with prior to their establishing themselves. She knew little to nothing of their origins and even the other planets were unaware they had any reason to be grateful to her. As far they knew, the senshi of the moon had disappeared._

_"Would you dance with me, Neo Queen Serenity?" Diamond asked, extending his hand. His smiled seemed earnest and genuine, prompting her to respond in kind._

_"Of course," she smiled._

_The two of them dazzled onlookers with their dance. Serenity had become quite a bit more graceful over the years, growing into a woman that Queen Selenity would have been very proud of, and Diamond was light on his feet. They danced in silence only a few minutes before Diamond posed a question to her. "I hope it is not improper for me to ask, but why is the King of Earth not with you?"_

_"King Endymion stayed behind to maintain our kingdom," Serenity answered. "When I return, he will make his own rounds to the planets."_

_"I see then," Diamond replied. "Well then, I hope that you and I, as well our planets, will get along splendidly."_

_"That would be very nice," Serenity said. "I would be honored if our planets could be allied."_

_"Then honor you, I shall," he said, kissing her hand._

* * *

 Serenity sat in a private room with all her senshi, taking her place as queen at the head the rectangular table. Venus was on her left, Mercury to her right, Jupiter and Mars across from her. She saw all her senshi regularly, but it was not very often nowadays that they got to relax together, especially not all of them at once. In some ways, Serenity had taken advantage of this to avoid Mars as much as possible, but in other ways, she had missed them being together. _'Watch your tongue and your wishes,'_ she scolded herself, inwardly sighing. It was too easy sometimes to get caught up in what once was...

Thus far the conversation had remained pleasant. In such a peaceful time, they were all free to explore their options and nothing was off limits to the senshi. Mercury had become a recluse in her labs. She couldn't become a doctor, not with being a full time senshi and needing to be available to fight at a moments notice, but she had all the time in the world to research medicines and cure disease. It was her hard work that kept the people of Crystal Tokyo in such good health. Ginzuishou may have given them vitality and slowed their aging, but they were not immune to infections. They were still only human and no exceptional planetary blood ran through the veins of her people.

Jupiter seemed to split her time between running a small bakery and training soldiers. Even if people don't have the extra force of a senshi, she still thought that enough practice could make the people of earth effective against a threat should youma return. With both the energies of the Ginzuishou and golden crystal strengthening them, it wasn't an impossible idea. And Jupiter seemed to take real pride in her work in both areas. Jupiter had worked hard to make the people strong and to keep a smile on their faces while doing so.

Venus was having a much harder time with her dream, as she decided to go the route of anonymity. She still wanted to be famous, but to do so without relying on her identity as a senshi was very difficult. There were only a few people that wouldn't be intimidated or worshiping of her identity and Venus had asked for their help in releasing her albums. She did all her recording in secret and all her albums were released under a false name and image. The hush hush of it all had gotten publicity and people were all wondering who their mystery singer was, but the important thing to Venus was that her voice was out there, being heard and admired. Even after all this time, she had yet to become less loving of attention. None of the other senshi knew this, though. Serenity was the only one Venus had told and they shared their excitement each time she got to release a new album. Needless to say, Venus was very vague about what she had been up to, when the conversation turned to her.

Serenity wanted to avoid hearing about Mars, but there was no polite way to do so. Mars liked to talk about herself almost as much as Venus did and she had hopped on every opportunity she could. She finally had the chance to live out all of her many dreams and was not shy about trying new things. Serenity knew that for a fact.

"I'm glad all of you have been able to the things you've wanted to do. I know that it must be hard being a senshi all the time," Serenity said.

"It really isn't so bad," said Mercury. "And I'm more worried about how you've been doing. Taking care of Crystal Tokyo is a big job and I hope that you know you can still count on us for anything."

"It's alright. I've learned how things work, by now," Serenity said. She hoped that the bitter edge in her voice couldn't be heard. "Neptune and Pluto were a big help in the beginning."

"So everything is okay with you?" Jupiter asked.

Serenity couldn't help but look to Mars as she answered. "I'm finding out that things are still much different than I though they'd be. Still it's... good to know that you guys will always fight for me."

Mars held her gaze without wavering for an instant. "We will always fight for you," She promised.

Serenity got the message loud and clear. Fighting and senshi business was a whole other world. As a soldier, Mars would always be loyal to her princess, her queen. Anything else was just too much to ask.

"Thank you," Serenity said to the assurances mumbled by her other friends. Her eyes were slow to move from from Mars, but she couldn't hold it either. Serenity was quieter when she repeated her words to the others, softer than she really meant to be. "Thank you."

* * *

  _Serenity was tired as she walked towards her bedroom door. Her visits to the other planets had exhausted her, but she managed to finish a few days earlier than expected and was excited to see her husband again. She pushed her door open and stood frozen in horror. Endymion was not alone in their bed. Exposed skin was covered by exposed skin as he fervently kissed the naked woman beneath him, and not even she could mistake what she was seeing._

_Mars gasped when she looked up to see Serenity standing there, freezing in place. "Usagi!" she gasped, pulling the blanket up to cover herself._

_Endymion looked over as well, also at a loss at what to do. He didn't have the chance to do anything, though. Serenity ran off, hoping that she had not seen what was just before her. It had to be some sort of dream, some sort of mistake. Endymion wouldn't do that to her. He wouldn't! He wouldn't!_

_Serenity did not return to her room that night. The next day was when she was formally announced as having returned to her kingdom. Endymion was to greet her before her people, the first they were to have seen of each other. She still didn't know what to do, what to say. It couldn't have been real or their must have been some sort of explanation. Some new enemy taking him over, some illusion that tricked her, anything that made what she'd seen make sense._

_"Welcome home, My Queen," Endymion greeted. He embraced her with a kiss, holding her close as he whispered to her, "For the people."_

_Serenity's eyes widened with shock as a cold stab of pain pierced her heart. '_ For the people,' _he said to her._ 'For the people! No apology! No explanation! He just expects me to pretend that it didn't happen? He just expects me to pretend!'

_Her eyes went to her senshi, landing on Mars without wanting to. The other senshi stood beside her, but Mars was the first to speak. "Welcome back, my queen."_

_Serenity tried to find words for this. There was no remorse in Mars' eyes. Nothing about her begged for forgiveness, she just looked resigned. Serenity tried to find some reason that this could not be happening. There were no words for her husband. No words for her 'friend.' All she think was, '_ This can't be happening.' _Over and over in her mind._

* * *

 Serenity walked the halls of her palace after leaving her meeting with the girls. It was so large that one could get lost in it. She had in fact gotten lost here in the beginning. There was a place for everything in her large crystal palace. A place for a Queen. A place for a King. Even if it wasn't the place that she wanted.

"Neo Queen Serenity!" One of the servants called out to her. "We need you to look over some things."

"Of course," Serenity responded. "Could you tell me where my husband is at this moment?"

"I saw him with the new recruits earlier," the servant answered. "I think he was sparring with them."

 _'An alibi,'_ she thought. Endymion did not train in public settings, never had, even if he had once fooled her into thinking otherwise. "I see," Serenity answered aloud. The servant carried the folders of paperwork to Serenity's study and then dismissed herself without complaint. With all the paperwork she did, Serenity sometimes wondered if she ran this kingdom alone, but she knew that was not true. King Endymion, she learned, was a great ruler. Even if he was a poor husband.

* * *

  _Serenity looked around the ballroom of Nemesis with a different eye than she'd had on her first visit. It was still just as lovely, but everything had become melancholy to her. Things seemed to lose color and vibrancy and joy recently and her spirits refused to be lifted._

_"Neo Queen Serenity," Diamond said. "I was hoping you'd join me in a dance, if it is not a bother."_

_"Prince Diamond," she said. "It is no bother at all." She took his hand and he lead her to the floor, but there was no lightness to her steps as there once had been._

_"You seem less joyous than your last visit, Neo Queen," he said gently._

_"Things are different than I would have thought they'd be," Serenity replied, her eyes watering as she spoke._

_"How much has changed in the year since I've seen you last?" he questioned._

_"Prince Diamond..."_

_"Just Diamond, I insist."_

_"Diamond," she amended, easily accepting the lack of formality. "I am at a loss of what to do. The most important thing to me is falling apart and I don't know how to fix it."_

_"Come with me," Diamond said softly, taking her by the hand and leading her to a private room. He closed the door behind them and looked her in the eyes. "Is this about your kingdom?"_

_She shook her head slowly. "King Endymion... he has... he..." She began to sob and couldn't bring herself to say anything more._

_He pulled her close, trying to comfort her with his embrace. "Whatever it is, Serenity, I promise to try and help you. I am more than just your ally. I'm your friend."_

_"Endymion... he..."_

* * *

 Serenity was brought out of her thoughts by a soft purple glow that sat upon her desk. The glow came from a small black crystal that sat upon her desk, a trinket that Diamond had given to her so that they could easily speak to one another. The glow meant that he was calling to her, something that only slightly surprised her. She lifted the tiny crystal and a small hologram of the prince projected above the point of the black crystal.

"Serenity," Diamond greeted her. "I waited to hear from you."

"Forgive me," she said to him. "Time got away from me."

"You look... uneasy, Serenity. Talk to me," he said imploringly.

"There has just been a great deal of things on my mind," she answered. Her eyes were downcast, unable to hold even his illusory gaze with the sorrow that played so heavily on her mind.

"Serenity… I won't tell you what to do, but perhaps it's time that things… change. If your mind is only becoming more burdened with how things are, then you may want to change them."

"Change them how? Though a horrible husband, Endymion is still a great King. And even if I was failed by a friend, I have not lost the loyalty of a soldier. What am I to do? What am I to change? My people—"

"Do something for your own happiness, Serenity," Diamond interrupted her with his insistence, something that he very rarely did. "You will not be abandoning your people if you try to be happy. As long as you rule, it need not matter what you do. Endymion has already taken this mindset and you attest to his good ruler ship."

"I don't know, Diamond. I just… I'm just conflicted. The senshi have all begun to reach for their dreams and I… my dreams are all broken. My Utopia is broken."

"Build yourself a new dream," he told her. "My clan… my people… we all dreamed of a planet like Earth. A place that was rich and vibrant and warm, but we don't have that. We have Nemesis and we do the best that we can with it. We embrace the darkness that comes from being so far from the sun, we find ways to enjoy the solitude that our position brings, we don't cling to what we do not have, but embrace everything that we do. When I met you, Serenity, you were able to do all those things. You were able to build dreams. Have you fallen so deeply into misery that you do not even remember yourself?"

Serenity took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Maybe I have forgotten. Maybe I don't remember what it's like to have unbroken dreams…"

"Just because you lost one dream doesn't mean you have to do without."

Serenity just nodded, not certain if she did have another dream within her. Part of her still hadn't given up on thoughts of her Utopia. Part of her still hadn't given up on her love with Endymion. She was so angry at him, but part of her just wanted to forgive him. Wanted him to ask forgiveness so that she could run back into his arms. That wasn't going to happen, though. He was… happy… without her. He and Mars were unrepentantly happy. Her senshi were happy. She was the only one who was without something to hold on to. She was the only one… without.

"May we speak later, Diamond? I think I wish to be alone."

"Of course, Serenity. Don't hesitate to call upon me if you must."

"I will not," Serenity answered. The hologram disappeared and she set the small crystal back onto her desk. Then, as she so often found herself doing lately, she retreated to the sanctuary of her crystal garden. Among all the frozen flowers, she could still feel like things were as they should be. It was as if her world were frozen as well. Her Utopia had finally come into its own, had finally burst into full bloom. But she had come to realize that some flowers were more beautiful in budding. "So what will I do?" she asked herself out loud. "What will I do?"


	3. Stay In Love With My Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serenity mourns that which she has lost and Luna delivers a warning.

There were only a few places that Serenity felt that she could be at ease and relaxed. One of those places was her crystal garden and she also felt at ease when she was with Diamond, but she wanted to separate herself from her palace and her friend for a time. At the very center of her palace she kept a memorial of sorts that she used to honor all those that she had lost in trying to reach her goal. This was a place that she kept secret and hidden from all of her court, Endymion and her senshi included. She kept a rendering of Queen Selenity that Michiru had painted for her in this place, as well as a similar image of the Moon Kingdom. She also kept pictures of her other mother here. The mother that she had known during the time she thought herself to be a true Earthling and nothing more. A picture of her father and younger brother were beside her mother's picture, and she took a moment to remember them.

It had been one of the first things that she had had to give up when she'd become queen. After the restoration of the planets, she had drained the Ginzuishou so much that she became unable to henshin. The crystal's powers still worked, but she was no longer able to become Sailor Moon. Somehow, they all knew that it was time. If she couldn't fight anymore, could no longer become Sailor Moon, then it was time to fortify. Time to create a strong hold and a kingdom and give their breath and blood to protect it. Only a few things held any of them back by that point, and one of those things for Usagi had been her family.

Needless to say, she couldn't keep her secret from her family any longer. So she told her mother, told her family, and they... didn't take it as well as she wanted. They were upset, they were angry, they were saddened, but most importantly, they couldn't take it. They tried to forbid her from her power, from her destiny, but she refused. She had to refuse them. After everything that had happened, she couldn't abandon the Earth just because she couldn't transform. They were sick with worry, Ikuko especially. They couldn't stand the thought of their daughter being in so much danger, the thought that their daughter wasn't even their daughter. The instability they suffered was understandable and maybe they could have gotten over it with more time, but it just weighed too heavily on them for her to stand. So she did the only thing she could think of to save them, to protect them... she wiped their memories of her. Completely. And she wiped away all memories of herself.

Usagi Tsukino was no more. The Tsukino's had only ever had a son and they were happy. They went on without her and there was no way she could turn back or change her mind because there was no where else that she could go. She became Serenity, Mamoru became Endymion, and they used the power of the Golden Crystal and the Ginzuishou, and the senshi even helped with the power of their own sailor crystals, and they created a Utopia. They woke the sleeping memories that lingered in the minds of those that had also been reincarnated from the Moon Kingdom, awakened everyone to the lost world of Elysion and the truth of the other planets, and she became a sovereign to them. And she decided that if she were to create a kingdom, if was to build a home with her heart and soul and blood and tears, that she would create a Utopia.

She did not want to give up on the idea of her perfect world. Just like she had not wanted to give up her family, or her identity, or her normal life, if she was to be truthful. She did not want to give up any of her past dreams, even now. She wanted to keep her heart preserved just as it was, with her prince and her friends and the dream they had aspired for. Even so, she took out her star locket, the thing that had long been the symbol of love between her and her prince, between her and the mysterious phantom that had always come to her rescue. Now, she placed it on one of many small memorial tables that she had setup in this mourning space, beside the brooch that once transformed her into Sailor Moon. Doing so would not be the end of her love and would not guarantee that she would be able to let go as she wanted, but it was a start and she desperately needed a start.

She stayed at least an hour in her mourning before deciding to depart. She was not quite ready to return to her palace or the world that awaited her there. Instead, she went to another place of silence that she did not have the chance to visit often enough. She moved through the corridors beneath her palace to a place that very few had access to or knowledge of. The clouds and fog slowly began to embrace her and she was very cautious as she approached.

It shouldn't have, but she was surprised when a voice called out to her. "Neo Queen Serenity, I am surprised to see you here."

"If you are surprised, Setsuna, then how did you know that it was me?" Serenity asked. She walked slowly through the fog until she found herself standing before the senshi of Pluto, who offered her a small smile.

"You are the one that most often surprises me," Pluto replied. "What has brought you here?"

"I dislike the thought of you being here all alone all the time," Serenity answered. "And I thought that we could talk."

"It is my duty to do so, my queen, you need not worry so about me," Pluto told her.

"You would say so even if that were not true."

"As would you, my queen. I must wonder if you are all right."

Serenity was quiet a moment, contemplative. Then she took a few steps closer to Pluto and looked her in the eyes. "I... I must ask you something Pluto." The solitary senshi tensed, but Serenity did not notice. "Tell me, Setsuna... as a queen... do you think it is alright for me to follow my heart even if it may lead me astray of what we've all built here?"

Pluto looked surprised at this as she tried to answer. "I do not know if I am the right person to answer such a question."

"You are the most dedicated person that I know, Setsuna. I could never do what you do, but somehow you're able to continue with your duty without fail everyday. And I'm no good at giving up things even if I want to, even when I need to. And you are the wisest person that I know, so I thought that if I could ask anyone this, I could ask you. Is it alright to follow my heart even if it leads me away from the things that I have now and everything that I've worked together with everyone to build up?"

"Serenity... Usagi," Pluto corrected herself. "The fact that you have always followed your heart is one of the things that I've always admired about you. I don't believe for a moment that you could do anything that would hurt your friends and I don't believe that you following your heart would be a bad thing. Just because you are queen now does not mean that you have to abandon your heart." Pluto walked up to Serenity and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Usagi, the strength of your heart is the reason that we all love you. You should not forget that."

A large smile broke out on Serenity's face and she embraced Setstuna warmly. "Thank you, Setsuna! Thank you so much!"

Pluto smiled as she slowly returned the hug. "Thank you, Usagi," she whispered in return.

* * *

 

Serenity was in much higher spirits by the time she returned to the ground level of her palace. She had not decided what she was going to do, but feeling like she was free to do something uplifted her. She had only just gotten to the ground floor when duty called again.

"Serenity. I've been looking for you all over."

"Luna?" Serenity turned to address the feline as she quickly approached in human form. Luna and Artemis had both taken on a role similar to that which they'd held with queen Selenity. They were advisers, ambassadors when necessary, and generally did whatever they could to be helpful. Serenity had tried to tell Luna numerous times that she no longer had to do as much as they once did, but the feline did not listen. "What is it?"

"We need to talk," Luna said curtly, taking her hand. "Come with me."

Serenity was startled as she was pulled along into an empty room, the door tightly shut behind them. "What's the matter Luna?"

"About your speech," Luna said. "What you said about Nemesis."

Serenity's face turned stern and she frowned at Luna. "The people of Nemesis are our allies, Luna, and I don't think it's fair how badly they are looked upon simply because they are not connected in the same way as the other planets of our solar system."

"I know your feelings on the matter, but that is not what I'm here to discuss," Luna said. "The other planets have begun to reach out towards Nemesis."

"That's a good thing," Serenity told her.

"I don't think you're understanding me, Serenity. The other planets are reaching out to Nemesis because they are not closely tied to the other planets. Serenity, the other planets are planning a rebellion."

"What?" Serenity whispered. "What proof do you have of this?"

"I can read the signs, Serenity." Luna took out a hand full of envelopes and showed them to Serenity. "Look at these," Luna said. "These are all request from the inner planets requesting to have a 'visit' from their princesses. I believe that they are trying to separate you from your court in order to make you vulnerable."

"You must be mistaken," Serenity said. "Why? Why would they? This is hardly proof of-"

"Don't be naive, Serenity. You have their senshi, their princesses as your personal court. The other planets do not know of your identity as Sailor Moon. They don't know that you had a hand in their restoration and it might not help even if they did. Your are more powerful than them and they are afraid-"

"No," Serenity said. "No, Luna. There must be some mistake. You have to be wrong."

"Serenity-"

"Do you have any proof of this, Luna? Anything aside from your assumptions?"

"Serenity!"

"Do you, Luna?"

Luna looked very sternly at her charge, a severe frown on her face. "Usagi, you cannot ignore this. The other planets-"

"We don't know what the other planets want to do. We can't condemn they based on almost no evidence. Even if there was a problem, I just can't believe that all the inner planets would just... decide to attack us for no reason."

"Violence doesn't always have a reason," Luna told her.

"I can't believe that," Serenity said. "I won't believe that. And you should not keep the girls from corresponding with their home planets," Serenity said as she began to leave.

"Usagi," Luna said in a scolding tone.

"Please, Luna, don't try to make me believe this when you have no proof," Serenity said to her. "And I don't approve of you stealing correspondence." She slipped out of the room and walked quickly to her study, trying to fight the panic that wanted to rise up within her. She rummaged through the papers that had been given to her that contained, among other things, correspondence and transactions between Earth and the other planets. Had something changed? Had she failed to deliver some vital aid somewhere or ignored some important request? Had she done something or not done something that would cause any other planet, let alone all of them, to want to rebel against her?

And what did Luna mean by calling it a rebellion? As far as she was aware, she was the queen of Earth. Just Earth. There was no alliance as their had been during the Silver Millennium that she was queen over. Of course, perhaps that was why they were so angry, if they were planning something. There was no unity between the planets, exactly. There was peace. Just peace. Yet she had all the planetary senshi in service to her and her planet. Did they have a right to be scared?

She needed to calm down, lest she frighten herself unnecessarily. There was no proof that anything was amiss. And surely Diamond would have warned her if someone was trying to ally with him against her.

She flipped through papers and reports, looking for some proof of... something. Anything. But what was she looking for? What could any of this prove? That Mercury had become less socially entwined with them. That Mars had become more independent? That didn't prove anything. She thought that she should talk to Endymion about this, but she was not willing to rely on his judgement. Mamoru would have trusted her judgement on the matter and supported whatever decision she thought best, maybe added some advice for good measure. Endymion would probably take Luna's standpoint. Caution before compassion, but she did not want to think that way.

In fact, why should she? Finally calming down, Serenity sat before her now cluttered desk and thought rationally. If the other planets had a problem with her, she should give them a chance to say so to her face. Or at least to say so to their senshi. And she did not care what duty they thought they had to her. If any of her senshi wanted to leave, to be the princesses that they had every right to be, she would not keep them. Not a single moment longer than they wanted to be with her. With that thought, Serenity was certain of her next action. She would visit the other planets again and she would allow her senshi the chance to chose their path.

Serenity was reluctant to admit one thing, though. There was a little truth to every rumor and that meant that there was a good chance that at least one of the planets did have something against her, against Earth, and she had to find out which one.

Knowing that it was unavoidable if she intended to go to the other planets, she steeled herself and went in search of Endymion. She could not leave Crystal Tokyo without protection and she needed to have words with her king to decide how to proceed. She found the king in his own study and he put down the paperwork he'd been looking over when she entered.

"Serenity, I'm surprised to see you here," he said to her.

"I need to speak with you, Endymion," she said politely.

"Of course." He held his hand toward another chair, offering her a seat. "Would you like to sit?"

She did not. She wanted this conversation to be over with as quickly as possible. Seeing the kind and handsome face that had once belonged to her only love was painful enough, but having to watch the cold and distant expressions it often wore was worse. "No, thank you."

"What did you need?"

"I was thinking of going to visit the other planets and I desire to take the senshi with me. I'm here so that we can come to an agreement on security."

"I see," he said, a contemplative look on his face. "Only one soldier is needed here. I don't expect their to be much trouble and you will be more vulnerable, don't you think?"

Serenity ignored the obvious message of his words. "I am worried about something happening in my absence. I do not want to leave Crystal Tokyo undefended."

"Leave Mercury," he said. "She is good at planning in emergencies. If anything were to come up, she would be able to handle it." For a moment, Serenity again considered telling Endymion what Luna had told her, but decided against it. He would not approve of her plan and she had no intention of changing her mind. She turned to go and Endymion spoke before she was at the door. "Is anything the matter, Serenity? You always look unhappy when I see you, nowadays."

She turned to him with a look of incredulity. "What?"

"If there is something bothering you, Serenity, feel free to talk to me," he told her.

The amount of shock and insult and pain that went through her held her frozen to her spot for a moment. Then she left his room without pausing to look back. She did not stop until she had entered her private room. A tear slid down her cheek and she whispered to herself, "That was just... too cruel of you... Endymion."


	4. I Wanna Let It Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King of Mars has a gathering and the senshi finally learn whats been going on between Serenity, Mars, and Endymion.

King Ra of Mars was a man of intense personality. He aspired to know all the other planetary rulers, to be aware of the conflicts and friendships among those in the their planetary system. So when he received word that Serenity and her court of planetary senshi would be coming to visit, he prepared right away. He returned word to Serenity that he would be ready to receive her at the end of the month. He sent invitation to all the other planets and by the time Serenity arrived, she was walking into a ball rather than to a short visit with another ruler.

It all worked to Serenity's advantage, having King Ra hosting such an event that would keep the other rulers in close proximity for a time. The only disappointment was that the outer senshi would not be able to attend and Serenity would be missing them.

The greatest surprise to Serenity was seeing King Jasper of Nemesis in attendance. He was not often involved with the other planets, preferring to let his sons step out in his place as he focused on the day to day for his people. He was in the company of Queen Nephthys of Neptune for a good majority of the event and none of his usual attendants were seen with him. The senshi, excluding Mercury whom stayed behind in Crystal Tokyo, had varying amounts of interaction with the head of their planet. Queen Hathor of Venus and Queen Isis of Saturn were especially friendly with Serenity and her court. King Osiris of Pluto, despite having a somber demeanor, had a quiet humor that drew many to his side and was good friends with King Set of Jupiter. King Thoth of Mercury and King Horus of Uranus were neither sociable nor kind, and were the only rulers that chose not to attend.

The event was a week long and Serenity used her time to the fullest, interacting with all the invited rulers. Serenity knew, without a doubt, that the Queens of Venus and Saturn, as well as the Kings of Pluto and Mars, were not the type to launch surprise attacks on the rest of the solar system. Regrettably, she had little interaction with the other Kings or the Queen of Neptune, and was uncertain where they stood.

"Queen Serenity," Nephthys called. "Can you spare a moment?"

"Certainly," Serenity answered.

"Let's speak privately. Would you follow me to my temporary quarters?" she asked. Serenity agreed and followed the other queen to her guest room, where they closed the door tightly for privacy. "I have a request for you, Serenity."

"A request?"

"King Jasper told me that he was troubled," Nephthys admitted. "He had some fear that something bleak was happening between a few of his attendants and his adviser. They were scornful of the other planets and were so hate filled that he had to banish them for fear of what might come of it. I was worried about it and I made a request to the senshi of my planet to look into it and she hasn't returned. And I spoke to Horus and the senshi of his planet, and now they have disappeared." Tears began to fall from her eyes and she turned her face away from Serenity.

"How long ago was that?" Serenity demanded. "And why have you not told anyone?"

"I did tell someone." Nephthys said. "I spoke with Thoth a few days before this event and I thought that he was to arrive, but we are all to leave upon the morning and..." Serenity's eye was caught by a movement on the floor and she looked away from the Neptunian queen. "I'm so sorry, Serenity."

"What?" Serenity turned back to look at Nephthys, a dark figure lunged out of the Neptunian Queen's shadow and grabbed at Serenity, both hands around her throat. "Ne-Nephthys..." She choked out.

Nephthys fell to the ground, covering her face with her hands and sobbing. "Forgive me, Serenity. The senshi of... the senshi of... Neptune is my daughter! I can't let anything happen to her. I can't! I can't! I can't!"

Serenity's hands were gripping those of her attacker, but she couldn't make out anything but glowing eyes and a black cloak. **"Give me Ginzuishou and I will spare you."** It's voice was deep and raspy, harsh  and commanding.

"No!" Serenity choked out.

**"Then I'll just pry it out of you."**

"Flame Sniper!" The fiery arrow shot into the black cloak and the figured recoiled. Mars ran into the room, standing protectively in front of Serenity. "Serenity, are you okay?" Mars questioned.

Serenity took a few moments to catch her breath. "M-Mars..."

"I was so worried when we couldn't find you," Mars said. She looked to the cloaked figure angrily, readying another arrow. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The figure didn't answer, recoiling into the shadows and vanishing from sight. It was almost quiet, except for Nephthys' voice repeating over and over again, "I can't... I can't... I can't...  I can't..."

Angrily, Mars turned her arrow turned the other queen. "No!" Serenity called out. "Don't!"

Mars turned her angry look to her queen, then looked back towards Nephthys. She dispersed her weapon slowly. "Don't go off by yourself! How stupid could you be."

"What?" Serenity asked in disbelief, standing and moving before Mars. "What did you say?"

"I said don't be stupid! Going off alone like that was so idiotic-"

Serenity's hand moved like a flash across Mars' face, the slap hitting her so hard that she stumbled. "Don't you ever speak to me that way," Serenity told her. "Don't you ever."

Mars clenched her fist tightly, trying to contain her anger. "What are we going to do if something happens to you?" she asked in an angry whisper.

"Something has already happened to me," Serenity replied. "Can't you see that?"

"Don't be reckless," Mars said. "That's all." She turned to leave, but Serenity grabbed her shoulder and turned her back.

"That's not all!" Serenity yelled.

"Yes it is! There's nothing else to say."

"Why did you save me?" Serenity demanded.

"What?" Mars asked, taken aback.

"Why did you save me?" She repeated.

"I told you," Mars answered. "I will always fight for you."

"Why?" Serenity asked again. "Why will you fight for me?"

"Because it's my duty to protect you. You are the Queen of Crystal Tokyo. The Queen of Earth. Your people need you. Endymion needs you you."

"Endymion doesn't need anything from me!" Serenity interjected. "He has you for that, now."

"The two of you rule Crystal Tokyo together," Mars said. "Don't be selfish."

Serenity looked as if she had been struck. "Selfish?" she repeated. She turned away from Mars, whispered coldly. "I think that you may be the most selfish person that I know, Mars."

"It wasn't fair of you to keep holding him hostage," Mars whispered. Her head was down, fist clenched to her sides as she spoke. "Every time a new enemy surfaced or anytime you had any problem you always acted like you couldn't do it without him. What was he supposed to think? What was he suppose to think, Usagi?"

Serenity struck Mars across her face once again. Anger and hurt in her eyes, which had begun to water, but no tears fell. "Don't you ever call me that," she whispered. "And he was suppose to think that I loved him. That I was in love with him. That I wanted to live my life with him! And so were you. I loved you both and you didn't even have the decency to tell me-"

"You knew how I felt from the beginning," Mars answered. "You took him from me first."

Anger welled up in Serenity and she lifted her hand again.

"Serenity," Jupiter called, approaching.

Serenity turned to see her other two senshi standing in the doorway. Serenity turned on her heel and walked quickly towards the door.

Venus called out to her. "Serenity!"

"Take Nephthys into custody," she paused long enough to say. "We are leaving now and she is coming with us."

"Where are you going?" Venus asked. Serenity almost couldn't look the senshi of love in the eyes. There was such a look of sorrow that it made her feel like her heart would break. "I've got to talk with King Jasper."

Jupiter and Venus both turned to Mars, but the senshi of storms was the one to speak. "What was that all about Mars?"

"It was nothing," Mars said.

"It wasn't nothing. Serenity was about to hit you! She's never like that," Jupiter insisted.

"Just drop it. It was nothing," Mars said forcefully. "You should get Queen Nephthys. Someone needs to go after Serenity." She began to walk towards the door.

Venus stepped in her path, holding out her hand to stop Mars. "Don't. I'll go after her. I don't think she wants to talk to you just yet."

"What?" Mars replied, about to make an angry retort.

"Stop it, Mars. I don't know what you've done, but I think you should leave her alone after that interaction. I'll go after her," Venus said firmly. She looked Mars in the eyes to make certain that her seriousness came across, then she followed the path that Serenity had taken out of the room.

* * *

 

Serenity found the King of Nemesis on the balcony that led out from the ballroom. She kept a stern look on her face as she confronted the king. "King Jasper, I must ask you something and I insist that you be frank with me," Serenity said as soon as she was in earshot. The man turned to her and she continued. "Tell me what crisis is occurring on your planet?"

The king's eyes widened and he responded evasively. "How does that concern you?"

"I was attacked," Serenity told him. "And Nephthys is a wreck."

"Nephthys is..." King Jasper began, trailing off as his eyes avoided hers.

"Tell me, King Jasper, what has happened," Serenity insisted.

Jasper's demeanor became one of sorrow and he seemed to crumble in on himself. "I thought that I could handle this on my own. I've hidden my conflicts from my sons, so they are both unaware of this, but my former adviser had a deep seated jealousy of the other planets that I tried to cure him of. When he would not be persuaded from his feelings, I cast him out." He hung his head in shame, gathering himself for the rest of the tale. "I was a fool to have kept it a secret. He went to Nephthys under some false pretense and convinced her to call her daughter to him. Through some trickery, I must imagine, as Nephthys was not clear when she later relayed the events, he was able to capture her. Nephthys loves her daughter dearly and he used that to manipulate her. I did not know who I could ask for help when I am so far removed from the other planets, so I persuaded her to call upon her allies, but..."

"But they were unable to defeat him," Serenity concluded.

He nodded. "He is... like a phantom, able to appear and disappear at whim and move through shadows, but I had no idea that he was so... callous."

"This cannot remain a secret," Serenity told him.

"Do you really think it best to involve the other planets?" He asked her. "Perhaps it would have been best for me if I had said something, but you have senshi to fight for you. You do not need the aid of the other planets as I would have. So, please, do not blacken the names of my sons with my mistake."

Serenity thought about this for a moment. "I... I will try to settle things without involving anyone else, but I cannot promise anything," she said, turning away from him.

"A warning, Serenity," He said before she left. "The Phantom, when he departed, he did not do so alone. Please be careful."

"I hope you will not let things like this go unnoticed in the future," she said. "For all of our sake."

* * *

 

As a queen, Serenity was not permitted to run away. She was not permitted to be weak, or scared, or lonely, though she had felt all of those things since becoming queen. When Venus found her, she did not speak. She was silent as she joined with her senshi, silent as they explained to the few attendants that accompanied Nephthys that she was journeying to the Earth with them, silent as they traveled, and silent when they returned to Earth. She was running away. Just for a few minutes, just for a little while, she wanted to run away. She was weak and she was lonely and would run away, just for a moment.

Serenity shut herself in her room for the night and ignored all attempts to get her attention, no matter the reason. She took the small black crystal that Diamond had given her and used her own power to activate it. It did not resonate with her well and it was easier for him to contact her than vice versa. Nonetheless, she poured her power into the crystal and his hologram appeared before her.

"Serenity? Is something the matter?"

"I need to see you, Diamond. Please?"

* * *

 

"I can't believe she's being so selfish," Mars fumed. She and the other senshi were all meeting together to discuss what little information they had on the situation. They had gotten what they could from the Neptunian queen, but were uncertain how to handle the little that they had gotten and with their leader ignoring them, they were at a loss. "Right when we need her the most she's ignoring us."

"She was just attacked. Cut her some slack, Mars," Mercury told her.

"We're always attacked," Mars replied. "We're wasting time just sitting here. We should be doing something, not just waiting around here."

"Calm down, Mars, what's wrong you?" Jupiter asked.

"Nothing. I just... we shouldn't just be sitting here."

"Is the guilt finally getting to you?" Venus asked. Mars turned to stare at Venus, who had a serious look on her face.

"What are you talking about? What would I have to feel guilty about?"

"You tell me, Mars," Venus replied. "Do you have something to be guilty about?"

"No... No, of course not," Mars replied, looking away.

"Hey.. what was that fight between you and Serenity about?" Jupiter questioned.

"I already told you it was nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing," Jupiter pressed.

"Do you really think that we'd buy that after what we saw?" Venus questioned. "We aren't stupid."

"I think we should all calm down and talk rationally," Ami said. "Now what is going on?"

"Tell them," Venus said. "I don't think it's right that you keep pretending this isn't happening!" She slammed her fist down on the table. "I wasn't going to say anything until she told me, but Usagi won't say a word about it and I understand why she wouldn't want to. And I thought that she didn't deserve to be pushed, but you Mars, after what happened, I don't think you have the right to stay silent anymore." Jupiter and Mercury both looked from Mars to Venus. Mars pressed her lips together, almost biting her lip. "Tell them!" Venus insisted. "You don't have the right to feel bad after all this time."

"Alright!" Mars exploded. She looked both angry and defensive, refusing to meet anyone's eyes and glaring at nothing. "Serenity and I had a fight... over Endymion."

"What do you mean?" Mercury asked.

"I was..." Mars stopped the words caught in her throat. Her face flushed. "Endymion and I... we've been..."

Jupiter's eyes widened in realization. "No... You wouldn't..."

"Mars?" Mercury questioned with a disappointed look on her face.

"It isn't my fault!" Mars exclaimed. "She wasn't right for him and he wasn't happy and we just... we just..."

"Mars how could you?" Mercury asked her.

"How long!" Jupiter demanded. "How long has this been going on?"

"For a while," Mars replied evasively.

Jupiter rushed forward and grabbed Mars by the front of her shirt. "How long?"

"Since after she became queen," Mars blurted out.

Jupiter pushed her fellow senshi away from her and Mars slumped to the floor. "How can even call yourself her friend? All this time... and she didn't even say anything..."

Mercury's eyes were on Venus, who had been silently standing in the same spot. "You knew about this?"

Venus nodded. "Not at first," she said. "But as my powers got stronger, I could sense the rift between her and Endymion. I could feel the heartbreak and I... I just started watching her, trying to put the pieces together, and then I could see something between him and Mars... I didn't know what it meant at first, but eventually I just put it all together. Serenity never said anything and I didn't know how to bring it up, so I thought that I could just wait for her to tell me, but she never did."

"Why would you do this, Mars?" Mercury looked at her sorrowfully.

"He wasn't happy with her! He felt like he couldn't be his true self with her and we had grown so close-"

"That's just an excuse and you know it!" Jupiter yelled. "You call her selfish, but do you even realize what you've done? They weren't playing house, Mars, they're married! Husband and wife. They made a promise to each other and you don't think anything about it?"

"It's not my fault!" Mars yelled. "She wasn't right for him!"

"The least you can do is take responsibility for your actions," Jupiter said. "You won't even acknowledge that you've done anything wrong."

"It isn't all on her," Mercury said. "Endymion made his own choices."

"But how could she, everyday, talk to her like nothing was wrong?" Jupiter pressed. "To betray her that way..."

"I still fight for her," Mars said in her defense. "I'll never abandon my duty as a senshi and I'll always protect her."

"What about your duty as her friend?" Jupiter yelled.

"It's not my job to be her friend!" Mars yelled back. "The only thing that I have to do is protect her, but I'm allowed to love whoever I want, to be whatever I want, to live how I want to live. Just because I have to protect her doesn't mean that I have to give up everything to her! I love Endymion!" She said, tears in the corner of her eyes. "I love him!"

"You think that that makes it okay?" Jupiter asked. "You stole her husband! Maybe you didn't owe her your friendship, but that doesn't mean you didn't owe her anything. What about basic respect, Mars? Of her, of her feelings, of their marriage, even! You don't owe her your friendship, but we don't owe you ours, either." Jupiter said as she stormed out.

Venus silently stood and followed her. Mars remained on the floor, tears slowly sliding down her face from the corners of her eyes. When she looked up, Mercury was staring at her. "What? Aren't you going to follow them?"

Mercury shook her head. "What you've done is terrible, but... Serenity didn't tell us. She didn't even hint to it. Even if she was hiding it for herself, I don't think she'd want us to stop being friends with you."

"Mercury..."

"Even so, I don't know how I can trust you anymore. You were lying to us this whole time, deceiving us this whole time. You may say that you haven't given up your duty as a senshi, but that's just BS, Rei." Mercury's voice rose to a shout and the other senshi winced slightly. "It wasn't just your duty to fight for her. You were suppose to protect her. Not just her body, but her heart, and you deliberately didn't do that. I won't forgive you for what you've done to her. The others may be upset, but they'll forgive you if Serenity does. I want you to know that I won't ever forgive you, no matter what you try to do or say. But I am not like you, Mars. I don't abandon my friends when they make mistakes. No matter how large those mistakes."

Mars was silent as more tears trailed down her face and she turned from the water senshi. Mercury did not make any move to comfort her, only stared as Mars silently and shamefully wept.

* * *

 

Jupiter slammed the door open to Endymion's room, hard eyes looking for her king. Endymion started at the abrupt entrance, giving the senshi of storms a questioning look. "Jupiter, what brings you here?" She strode up to him and punched him square in the face, knocking him out of his chair. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I can't kill you," Jupiter began. "Serenity would never forgive me for that, no matter what you've done, but if you hurt her anymore than you already have, I'll make you regret every bone in your body."

"Wha-" Endymion began, then it clicked in his head and his expression became cold and closed off. "There is nothing between Serenity and I anymore. No love and no hate, so there isn't anything that I can do to her. And it isn't my desire to hurt her."

"If you think that, you really don't know her at all," Jupiter said.

"She'll get on without me. She has so far," he replied.

"You don't feel anything? No regret? No remorse?" Jupiter yelled.

"Why should I?" he answered. "I told you. There is nothing between Serenity and I. No love and no hate. That's how it's been for a long time."

"You didn't deserve her," Jupiter spat, turning to leave.

"Did you ever consider that we weren't meant to be?" he asked before she could leave the room. "We were happy together once, drawn together once, but that's all. Things change. People change. No one is perfect. Neither she nor I."

"Even if you didn't love her anymore, you didn't have to do what you did. You could have just broken things off with her."

"How could I?" he asked her. "Every time I turned around there was always something. Something she needed me for, something trying to bring her down, something trying to destroy her, and if I left her during those times it would have been over for us all."

"You didn't have to marry her if you didn't love her. You didn't have to go behind her back because you were unhappy. You could have talked to her, to us, done anything else. I don't want to hear any excuses," Jupiter said. "Because if you didn't want to hurt her, you could have done a number of different things that wouldn't have done so."

* * *

 

Serenity awaited Diamond among the flowers of her crystal garden. He was very quick in arriving, appearing before her in a flash of dark light. His expression was worried when he arrived before her and he didn't greet her as he usually did, just waited for her to speak first. She clutched onto the front of his shirt, holding her head down as she whispered, "I need your help, Diamond. Please, I can't take it any longer. Please help me."

"What is it? What do you need Serenity?" he asked worriedly.

"I need you to use your power on me," she told him.

"What?"

"I need you take my memories," she said. "I can't remember what they've done, or what's happened between us, or how I feel about them. I just can't be distracted right now. I can't be weak or frightened or lonely. And I can't do any of that with them on my mind."

"I can't do that to you," he said to her.

"Please, Diamond."

"Serenity, I don't think you're weak," he told her. "Not in the least. The way you've continued on without scorning them, without giving up, that's not weakness. That's strength. And you don't have to be lonely," he moved her head so that she was looking him in the eyes. "You don't have to ever be lonely. I'm here for you, Serenity."

"Diamond," she whispered, tears in her eyes. "I can't..." she said, looking away from him.

"Yes, you can," he told her. "You don't have to forget to let it go." He lifted her chin, staring into her eyes. "I'm right here, Serenity, and I'm not leaving."

Serenity stared into his eyes for a long time. For just a moment she looked away from him, then she looked back. He placed his hand firmly under her chin, drawing her closer, but not touching her lips. He waited, looking into her eyes a moment longer before she moved closer and closed the distance between them. He wrapped an arms around her waist and pulled her body to his and her arms went around his neck. Serenity thought that perhaps, she did not have to forgive. Perhaps she did have it in her to let it all go. To be strong and to heal and to move on. For a moment she believed all those things.

"Serenity!" Luna exclaimed.

"Luna!" Serenity said as she broke away. "I... Let me explain!"

"I thought that there was some mistake. I thought that you would never betray Crystal Tokyo, the senshi, Endymion..."

"No, Luna! It isn't like that," Serenity protested.

"I didn't believe him when he told me, but I guess I was wrong about you, Serenity."

"Luna..." Serenity's voice trailed off as a black figure rose from Luna's shadow and her eyes opened wide.

"Phantom." Diamond positioned himself in front of Serenity, trying to push her back, but she was too stunned to be moved.

"What is this, Luna?" Serenity demanded.

"I'm sorry, Serenity... but I can't let you destroy Crystal Tokyo." Luna told her.

"What-" But her statement was cut off as darkness raced towards her, forming sharp points. Diamond pushed her out the way, a cry of pain escaping him as the darkness pierced him.

"What are you doing, Phantom?" Diamond demanded. "Stop this!"

Luna fell to the ground. "I sorry, Serenity. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Luna cried, covering her eyes.

"Diamond!" Serenity yelled, leaning over him.

"Serenity, go!" He urged as he stood, a hand pressing to the wound in his side. He released a blast of white energy towards the black caped figure which was met with black energy in return. Serenity covered her face as the backlash of powers flashed too brightly to look at for a moment and caused a strong wind in all directions.

"Diamond!" she cried out, forcing her eyes towards the fight. She was able to see the Phantom teleport behind Diamond and release another blast of energy. She didn't think, her body just moved and then pain filled her mind. Serenity gasped out as the darkness pierced her body. "Diamond..." she whispered as she fell to the ground.

"Serenity!" he called out desperately, catching her before she hit the ground. "Serenity." Tears were in his eyes and they shone with disbelief. "Why, Serenity?"

"I didn't want you to die," she told him, smiling even as tears fell from her eyes.

Diamond pulled her close, cradling her in his arms.

 _'I couldn't do anything,'_ she thought to herself. _'I couldn't do anything. I didn't want this. I wish...'_


	5. Sleep Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diamond and Serenity recover on Nemesis and King Jasper talks to the senshi.

_'I wish I could save him.'_

By the time the senshi were aware that something was wrong and had arrived on the scene, the fighting had ended. There was no sign of the Phantom, nor Serenity or Diamond. Luna was still sobbing on the ground and the only signs of battle were the blood stains on the ground. Mercury went over to Luna, kneeling down beside the distraught woman. "Luna, what happened here?"

"I couldn't let her... I couldn't..." Luna sobbed. "She betrayed us... she betrayed us all..."

"What's she talking about?" Jupiter asked.

"Luna, where is Serenity?" Mercury questioned again, trying to speak patiently.

"I couldn't let her... I couldn't let her..." Luna repeated.

"She's talking just like Nephthys," Venus pointed out.

"Let's take her inside and see if we can get any information out of her," Mercury said. She stood and activated her visor, scanning the battle field. "Wait a second. There's something really off about her energy." Mercury began to type rapidly on her computer.

Mars kneeled down next to Luna, planting her hands on her shoulders. "What did you do?" Mars yelled as she shook Luna.

"Mars!" Venus said in objection.

"What did you do to Serenity! Tell me!" Mars demanded.

"She was going to destroy Crystal Tokyo!" Luna said. "I didn't want to believe him, but I saw it! I saw it."

"Leave her alone, Mars. There's something wrong with her. We'll get more out of her if we give her a chance to calm down," Mercury said.

"Nephthys didn't calm down," Mars countered.

"Give it a chance." Mercury said. "Jupiter, can you carry her?"

"Yeah, I'll get her."

"I can't believe we failed to protect her," Venus said, silently adding to herself, _'Again.'_

* * *

 

When Diamond teleported into the throne room of Nemesis, holding Serenity tightly in his arms, he was very weak. He immediately fell to his knees. Blood stained their white clothes, and Serenity was completely unconscious. "Saphir," he said, calling his brother to his side.

"Diamond," Saphir said as he ran to his brother's side, followed by Emerald and Rubeus.

"Take care of... Serenity," Diamond rasped.

"What happened to you?" Saphir asked.

"Phantom," Diamond said. "Take her... I trust in you... Saphir..." Then Diamond fell unconscious.

* * *

 

Diamond felt heavy when he woke. It took him a moment to sit up and register that he had been placed in bed. He found himself shirtless but there was no trace of wound he had suffered. He stared at the place where he was stabbed by the Phantom. Even if they had tended his wound, there should be some sign of it... Diamond was quick to clear such thoughts from his mind. There were more important things for him to worry about and they came to him almost immediately. Serenity was injured, and though he trusted his brother and attendants to take care of her, he still felt uneasy with her out of his sight. It could not be helped. He couldn't have left Serenity behind when he fled from the Phantom, not when her warriors were not even around to protect her.

"Be careful moving," Emerald said to him, rising from her place beside the bed and reaching out to him. Diamond must have been out of it to not even notice the green haired woman sitting at his side.

"What happened?" he asked her. "I'm not wounded."

"Your wound had already begun to heal when Saphir looked at it," Emerald answered. "Hers, too."

"Where is Serenity?" he asked.

Emerald looked momentarily hurt, but answered him regardless. "Saphir has her. He suspects that she is the reason that both of your wounds began to heal. She has a power that is opposite to ours and the Phantom. She repels it, almost."

"I see," he replied. "So she is well?"

Emerald didn't answer immediately and Diamond tensed.

"Emerald?"

"I will go and get Saphir," she said quietly, leaving his side.

In the short time that it took for Saphir to arrive, worry had already overcome Diamond again. "Saphir," he said anxiously. "Tell me how Serenity fairs."

"Are you feeling well, brother?" Saphir asked before addressing his question.

"Fine," Diamond answered curtly. "Now tell me, what is the condition of Neo Queen Serenity?"

"Her wounds are healed, if that is what you worry about," Saphir answered him. "However, she won't wake up. I did some tests and she seems to be fighting with the dark powers of the Phantom. She's in a coma of some sort and has been unresponsive to outside provocation."

"How long has it been? Where is she?" Diamond asked, throwing off the covers and standing.

"A full day," Saphir answered, following his brother to the door, then leading the way himself. Saphir lead Diamond to a room that was close to his own, opening the door and allowing his brother to enter first. The Neo Queen was laying eerily still on the bed, hands clasped together on her stomach, not even breathing. Fear crept within him as he approached, but upon touching her arm, he could feel the warmth that radiated from her, telling him that she was still alive.

"You said that the Phantom attacked you both?" Saphir questioned.

"Yes," he answered. "I think he was after Serenity."

"If she really is the reason that the two of you were spared, I can understand why," Saphir said. "Do you think we should tell them that's she's here?"

"No," Diamond answered. "Send someone to Earth to tell them what we know about the Phantom, tell them that we were attacked, but do not tell them that she is here. She wasn't safe there when she was conscious, I'm not willing to send her back there in this condition."

"How are we going to explain that we know she was attacked?" Saphir questioned. "I don't think you're thinking clearly, brother."

"I'm certain that you can think of something, Saphir." Diamond's gaze was unwavering as he stared at Serenity.

"Diamond... are you in love with this woman?" Saphir asked him.

Diamond looked back at his brother as he answered. Meeting his eyes, Diamond asked him, "Isn't it obvious?" He turned back to Serenity, who was as still as death, taking one of her hands to assure himself that she was alive by the warmth that still filled her. "Father has been suspicious on the matter of Phantom for some time, now. He must know something. There were obviously things that he was not telling us. Perhaps he could approach the senshi and ask for their help without bringing suspicion."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, Diamond?" Saphir asked him. "If they find out that we're hiding things from them-"

"I have to protect her," Diamond insisted. 

"I don't think you're thinking clearly," Saphir repeated. "If they find out that we have taken her, things could become bad for all of us. Think about this, Diamond."

"I trust you to handle it," Diamond told him. He released Serenity's hand and walked over to his brother, placing his hands on Saphir's shoulders. "Please understand me, Saphir. I was right there, unable to protect her and her guards were nowhere to be seen. I can't send her back there like this, without knowing that she's okay and not even knowing if she'll truly be protected. I do not want to bring trouble, but I can't send her away until I know that she is alright."

Saphir was a little taken aback by this display of his brother's. While he had been well aware of the friendship that his brother had with the Neo Queen, a friendship that had been very profitable for their planet by way of gaining aid and supplies that they could not have gotten elsewhere, he had not known that his brother's feeling had grown so intense. The two of them were not typically emotional and Diamond had never been particularly interested in the women that had shown interest in him. Saphir did not know the Neo Queen very well, but he still had not expected her to be his brother's type. She was a bright and optimistic woman, friendly and open, not anything like his brother, but he supposed that opposites did attract.

Saphir had not expected that his brother would ever fall in love and part of him could not begrudge Diamond that. Saphir did not know that this would not blow up in their faces, but he still returned his brother's gaze, placing one of his hands over Diamond's. "Alright, brother," Saphir relented. "I'll handle this."

"Thank you, Saphir."

* * *

 

King Jasper was in a melancholy mood when his youngest son approached him. He did not keep tabs on his sons, trusting them to govern themselves as he governed the planet and he was not often aware of their daily activities. It was rare that they sought him out during the day. Rare that they had much reason to, as both his sons had become fairly independent. "What brings you here, Saphir?"

"I have a question for you, father," Saphir began, his expression severe. "About the Phantom."

"What about him? I am certain that you are aware that he is no longer advising me."

"Yes. I must wonder why, though. It did not seem as though there was a problem."

"Our opinions were too different," Jasper answered.

"Is that all?"

"What is this about, son?" Jasper asked Saphir, looking sternly at his son.

"Diamond told me that he was attacked by the Phantom," Saphir answered.

Jasper's eyes widened and he rose from his seat. "When was this? Is he..."

"He was badly injured, but he'll recover," Saphir told him. "Why would the Phantom do that, father?"

King Jasper turned away from his son, looking forlorn. "My former adviser has defected from us. There was blasphemous talk of war and destruction to the other planets, and I tossed him out because of that. Since then, The Ayakashi sisters have been bewitched into his following and I have been silent for fear of what would befall them if I chose to act against him. Because of my silence, he was able to gain access to Neptune and now holds a hostage of Nephthys."

"Why would you keep this from us!" Saphir demanded.

"I wanted to protect you," Jasper replied. "I thought that as long as I did not interfere, he would not bother to come after us. I thought that I could keep us safe. I should have told you after my talk with the Neo Queen."

That caught Saphir's attention and he forced his ire to lessen. "You spoke with Neo Queen Serenity?"

"Yes, before departing from the event on Mars," King Jasper answered. "She told me there was an incident and scolded me for my silence, but I was able to convince her not to involve the other planets. I should have heeded her warning and spoken about it, but I was too ashamed at my failure."

"I think that you should make amends by aiding the Neo Queen's warriors," Saphir said firmly. "Since she is taking care of this for you. Your silence on top of the inconvenience that you have caused her is an insult. The least that you could do is offer the information that we have on the Phantom and none of us know more about him than you."

"I suppose that you are right," Jasper replied. "I should have told her all when I was first approached, but I did not want the Phantom's wrath upon us."

"I don't think that we have any cover from his wrath," Saphir told him. "This attack proves that."

"Saphir... forgive your foolish father," Jasper whispered. "I will prepare to depart soon."

"One more thing, father. Without the Ayakashi sisters, how protected are we?"

"We are defending ourselves, now, my son," Jasper answered.

The King then departed from the room, leaving Saphir tense with stress. There was too much that his father had not informed him of and too much that would need to be covered. He didn't know if he could depend on Diamond with the state that his brother was in over the Neo Queen. Diamond was the oldest and had naturally begun to take on more responsibilities than Saphir had over the years, but that didn't mean that Saphir had done nothing. Even if Diamond would be better suited to this type of matter. The Ayakashi sisters were not their only means of protection, but like each planet had a senshi, they had the sisters. Each was a powerful warrior in her own right, perhaps not more powerful than the planetary warriors on their own, but together they were a force to be reckoned with.

Nemesis was now more vulnerable than they could afford to be.

Diamond's power had already surpassed their father's and he had succeeded him by inheriting control over the Dark Crystal. Saphir had his own strengths and his power was still growing, not to mention their attendants Rubeus and Emerald were very strong. None of them were true warriors, though. They were not trained to fight in the same way. Emerald and Rubeus would die in service to their rulers, Saphir and Diamond both would protect their people to their last breath, but determination did not override skill.

"Damnit," Saphir swore to himself, slamming his fist against a wall. He couldn't handle all these things at once. Diamond could, but Saphir had never troubled himself with high pressure conflicts. Not when his brother was so capable at handling these matter and Sahpir could just support him from the background. Hopefully, Diamond would pull himself together before too long and Saphir wouldn't have to continue alone, but he was uncertain if he could accomplish everything that needed to be done.

He left in search of Rubeus and Emerald, hoping that his decision would turn out for the best. The two were conversing in the throne room, but turned to him as if ready for orders immediately upon seeing him. "Has my father asked either of you to accompany him?"

"The King? Not at all?" Rubeus replied.

 _'Father intends to travel alone,'_ Saphir thought. He wasn't certain that was a wise idea on his father's part, but the king seemed to have been making a string of questionable decisions lately and Saphir did not think they could afford to leave themselves even more vulnerable.

"Emerald, I want you to keep an eye on Diamond. If anything comes up, bring it to me immediately," Saphir commanded. "Rubeus, I need your assistance in completing my work on the droid project."

* * *

 

_It was cold and almost too dark to see when Serenity opened her eyes. She immediately jumped at the form that stood before her. It was a blackness that somehow stood out starkly against the darkness around her and fear filled Serenity's heart simply looking at it. There was no heart to this creature. No warmth and no feeling and the eyes that stared at her looked soulless._

_**"Child of the moon."** The voice of the black thing was cold and vicious, grating against Serenity's ears despite not actually sounding unpleasant. " **Are you not happy to meet me here?"**_

_Serenity tried to scramble away from the black thing, finding that she was sitting on the ground before it. She moved back, unable to stand or take her eyes away from the thing. It was too dark to orient herself and she felt far too weak._

_**"Is this too much for you?"** the black thing asked. " **Perhaps this will soothe you."** A black cloak fell around the figure, covering all but it's glowing eyes, which were the only points of light that it held. Serenity recognized it as the thing that had attacked her and Diamond, but was silent as the grating voice again spoke. " **I want only one thing from you, moon child, and you may give it to me quickly. Ginzuishou."**_

_Serenity's hand flew to her chest, but there was no brooch there to protect. She had not kept the crystal in her brooch since she ceased being able to become Sailor Moon. The crystal was as safe as it ever could be, resting within her own body. "Never," Serenity firmly answered._

_" **Do you really think that you can keep it from me? Where do you think we are? I'm already inside you. Inside your** **mind. You can't hide it from me."** Darkness, blackness, was moving towards Serenity, almost unnoticeable from the shadows that seemed to surround them._

_"Stay away!" Serenity yelled and the glow of the Ginzuishou emanated from her. The darkness was unable to enter the circle of light that protected her, but she still felt nearly overwhelmed with fear._

_**"That will not protect you for long."** The cloaked figure moved around her in a circle, floating rather than walking. **"This is merely a portion of my consciousness that I've left here. I'll get the Ginzuishou from here, inside you, or I will get it from without. So how will you protect yourself from both assaults moon child, when you cannot even escape my bind."**_

_"I won't give in to you," Serenity said again. No matter her fear, she was entirely unwavering on this point._

_" **You won't have to. I'll just wear you down."** The figure moved away from Serenity, leaving her in darkness that was only broken by the soft light that pulsed from her. Serenity huddled in on herself, shuddering from the cold._

* * *

 

King Jasper was not long in arriving on Earth. Upon being taking to the palace, he was presented to the King of Earth. Endymion met him with a polite smile. "King of Nemesis. What brings you here?"

"I came to speak with the Neo Queen on an important matter," he answered.

"I'm afraid that she cannot be reached at the moment. Would you mind speaking with me on the matter?"

King Jasper took a moment to steel himself. It was difficult to address the matter straight out, despite having come all this way to do so. "I came to tell her of the Phantom."

"Phantom?" Endymion repeated. His polite smile did not waver, but his eyes seemed to harden. "If you would not mind, King Jasper, let us speak in the presence of the senshi."

The King of Nemesis was uneasy to tell his story once the senshi were gathered. He wished that he could speak with the Neo Queen, but he supposed that was not possible. In the absence of the Neo Queen, the senshi of Venus acted as leader.

"What is this about?" she asked as politely as she could, the authority ringing true in her voice.

"I had meant to speak with the Neo Queen, but I have come to relay information on the Phantom."

"The Phantom?" Jupiter repeated. "Who is the Phantom?"

"The Neo Queen did not mention it?" he asked. "I see she was true to her word. The Phantom was once my adviser. I banished him from my planet and he has since been silently plaguing the other planets. The Neo Queen told me that she encountered him on Mars."

"That was what attacked her!" Mars exclaimed.

"When he left my planet," King Jasper went on, "he persuaded several of my warriors to go with him and fled to Neptune, where he was able to gain a hold over Queen Nephthys by capturing her daughter, the senshi of Neptune."

"Nephthys is Neptune's mother..." Jupiter's voice trailed off, surprise seeming to lead to understanding.

"That explains what she's been going on about," Mercury said. "She must have had something to do with the first attack on Serenity."

"Tell us more about the Phantom," Venus demanded.

"He is a powerful man, able to move through shadows and take hold of one's mind. The restriction to this, however, is that he can only enter a person's shadow if they allow him access. Once they allow it, he can move freely through that shadow as if it is a portal. He is also very persuasive. He can prey on the thoughts of others, their insecurities and doubts, convince them of things that are likely false, but he cannot over take the mind of another. If one has conviction enough they may fight him off."

"He must have gotten to Luna," Mercury said. "That's why she was convinced that Serenity was going to destroy Crystal Tokyo."

"That means-" Mars caught herself before she finished her exclamation, but the look on her fellow senshi's face told her that they had all had the same thought. The Phantom had Serenity.

"What about your warriors that went with him. What can they do?" Venus asked.

King Jasper took a deep breath, fighting his shame as he went on. Speaking of his failure to see the deception of his adviser was one thing, but telling them the secrets of his warriors felt like a betrayal. He was their king, he should be able to protect from the things that wanted to harm them just as surely as they were suppose to look out for him. "The Ayakashi Sisters are masters of elements," he told them. "Ice, lightning, and fire. There is also a weapons master among them." He knew that he should say more, but it was difficult to bring himself to do so.

"Thank you for coming to us, King Jasper," Venus said.

"I do not deserve thanks," he replied to her. "I was foolish in keeping my silence and wish only to correct my mistakes."

"It takes a wise king to own up to his mistakes," Mercury told him gently.

"Then my son will make a very wise king. It was he that convinced me to come here. I falsely believed that the Phantom held no interest in my people as long as we did not interfere. But since he attacked Diamond-"

"Prince Diamond came under attack?" Venus questioned.

"Yes."

"When was this?"

"Not long ago. Perhaps only a day," Jasper answered.

"Was he alone?"

"What is this about?" The king of Nemesis wondered in confusion.

"Was Serenity with him when he was attacked?" Venus asked directly.

"Not to my knowledge," he replied.

"I see," Venus said in a calmer tone.

"Tell me, you mentioned Nephthys. Is she...?"

"She is here," Venus told him.

"May I?" There was an uncharacteristic look of hope on the king's face and none of the senshi had the heart to refuse him. The King of Nemesis was normally such a dower man, to see him in a light mood was strange to them all. Despite only being in his company a handful of times at best, they didn't want to see that look vanish quickly.

"Follow me," Venus answered.

The Neptunian Queen was not being held in a prison, exactly, but she was locked in a cell and in the cell beside her was where Luna was being kept. It was more a small holding room in one of the research rooms. Usually for protection rather than restriction and far more kind than being shoved into a cell. Artemis was watching over the cells, a sorrowful expression on his face as he gazed at Luna. He looked up when he saw Venus approaching.

"You can talk to her, but I don't think she's in her right mind right now," Venus told King Jasper.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, moving to stand before Nephthys.

Venus nodded, pulling Artemis to the side to explain what she had learned.

"Jasper," Nephthys said, recognition lighting her eyes. "Jasper!" She reached out for him and he moved close enough to the bars that contained her so that they could touch. "Why are you here?"

"I had to tell them," Jasper said. "About the Phantom. The senshi have to be able to defeat him and once they do your daughter will surely be saved."

"No… No…" Nephthys said, shaking her head. "You can't have told them. You can't… Please don't tell me that. You can't have told them. You can't. You can't."

"I had no choice," he replied. "The Phantom has taken your daughter, attacked one of my sons, I can't let this go on."

"No, Jasper… No, no, no…" she repeated, crying softly.

Jasper placed a hand on her cheek, leaning as close to her as the bars would allow. "What's wrong, Nephthys?"

"I don't want my daughter to be hurt," she said.

"She will not be," he repeated.

"Jasper…" she said again, tears flowing down her face. "I loved you. I loved you so much."

"What—" His words cut off as she formed a small ball of water in her hand and threw it at his face, the water entering through his parted lips. His hands went to his throat as he tried to spit out the water to no avail, quickly beginning to choke on it.

Nephthys reached for him through the bars and pulled him close, cradling him as best she could with a barrier between them. "I can't disobey him, Jasper, I'm so sorry. I want Michiru to live. If only you hadn't told them… I didn't want this. I didn't want this." She moved slowly to the floor as his body began to sag, not releasing him until they were both on the ground. She hid her face in her hands as she sobbed, unable to watch the dying King.

"King Jasper!" Venus exclaimed, going to the choking King. She turned quickly to the sobbing Queen, demanding loudly, "What did you do!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Nephthys cried over and over again.

In a flash Venus's chain slipped through the bars and around Nephthys' throat. "Stop it! Stop it right now!"

"I can't," Nephthys insisted. "I can't… I ca-n't… I…"

Venus jerked the chain hard, pulling Nephthys towards the bars where she hit her head so forcefully that she passed out. Upon the queen's unconscious body hitting the floor, King Jasper coughed out the water that had been constricting his throat. She lifted his head, holding him slightly to the side so that he could cough up more water. "Are you okay, King Jasper?"

"I… I'm alive…" he replied. He turned his sorrowful eyes toward the queen of Neptune. "She was in mourning when I met her," The King whispered. "She had memories of the first fall of her planet and was deeply hurt by the deaths that she recalled. Of everyone that she cared for, only her daughter remains. A daughter that risk her life every moment. She desperately fears that she will lose her daughter and she cannot bare the thought."

"That doesn't excuse this," Venus replied.

"For me, it earns her my forgiveness. The Phantom has abilities that can prey upon the weakness of others. If he uses his abilities on you, you may find yourself wishing that such easy forgiveness could be extended to you."

Venus didn't answer for a moment. "That may be," she said at last. "But I still can't excuse this so easily. She had other options."

"When you are faced with such troubles, it does not seem so," King Jasper said.

Venus didn't argue that, but she couldn't bring herself to agree, either.


	6. Hide The Emptiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serenity's mind is tortured by darkness, Michiru is held prisoner by Birthier, and Endymion visits the planet of Neptune.

It was cold inside her cell. Colder, even, than the watery depths of Neptune usually were. The atmosphere on Neptune was heavy and differed most greatly from the other planets. It was as if water floated in the atmosphere, thick visible droplets that would be difficult to breathe if not for the fact that those that visited Neptune were already used to breathing the strange vacuumed atmosphere of space. Neptune was one of the colder planets, along with Saturn, Pluto, and Nemesis. Neptune was the worst, however, because the water that collected in the atmosphere clung to the cold, and vice versa, but it did not ever freeze. Uranus was surprisingly and pleasantly warm, despite being so far from it's source of heat and warmth. It seemed like the planet was made to counter or balance that of Neptune and the two planets often kept good relations.

Neptunians were never cold on their planet. Michiru was cold, though. And she was Michiru, now, not Sailor Neptune. She had been forced out of her transformation because she'd lost so much energy, something that had not ever happened to her before. She couldn't remember the last time that she had been just Michiru and this was not how she envisioned the return of her civilian self. She had envisioned a pleasant stay with her princess and a secret meet with her lover, instead she got this: Locked in a cell and stripped of her transformation and energy.

The texture of the floor beneath her was like hard natural rock and sand, the ocean floor, and chains held both her wrist and ankles. There was enough give in the chains for her to stand, though she couldn't lift her arms above her waist if she did so, but she was slumped on the ground using the wall as support. She was too weak to stand, too weak to fight against the chains. She'd tried all that anyway and it hadn't worked. She was alone, now, but she wasn't always. Her mother had sometimes been allowed to visit her, always with the promise that she'd find a way to release her.

Even though her transformation was broken, her connection to her planet was not. It was tainted now, she could feel it. There was a darkness spreading through her planet. The Phantom had done something, but she didn't know what it could be.

The door to her cell opened and a woman in a blue leotard entered. This woman was the one that kept watch over her most often, but it was rare for her to enter without the Phantom beside her. She leaned down close to Michiru, but not so close that she could touch the captive senshi. "Your mother's been gone a long time. Your people are starting to worry."

"They should worry," Michiru said. "If they knew what you've done—"

The woman continued as if she had not heard. "It would be easier to deal with them if they were kept calm and what better way to calm them than a word from their princess."

"You can't make me lie to them," Michiru said, looking her in the eye defiantly.

"Oh?" the woman questioned curiously, her mouth making such a perfect 'O' in surprise that Michiru was certain it was just for effect. "Even if not doing so would result in their harm and death? Even if not doing so would mean the death of your mother? Even if doing so could earn you the chance to see your lover on Uranus?"

Michiru's heart clenched at that last one. She did not want the death of her people or her mother, but part of her thought that her people would better with the truth, and the senshi part of her couldn't forgive the things her mother had allowed to happen just to keep her safe. She wouldn't be any better if she threw those things away just to see Haruka, but she hadn't seen her lover since hearing that Haruka had been captured, and she was just so worried.

"You don't even have to do much," the woman went on. "Just calm them down, tell them your mother has been busy with something on another planet and then announce your departure to Uranus."

"I'm going to Uranus?"

The woman tilted her head towards Michiru in another display of confusion. "You don't want to go?"

Michiru chose not to answer that. "They won't be used to seeing me this way."

The woman smiled brightly at her, looking extremely cheerful. "Don't worry about that. You're going to be transformed." Michiru's heart almost jumped at the hope that filled it. "Of course, you won't be allowed to recover your full energy and if you fight or cause a scene your mother will be killed."

All the hope in Michiru drained out of her, but she tried not to show it. "I understand."

"That's a good girl. Your people are already very familiar with me, your mother told them that I was her new adviser, but I think it would put them at ease to see someone they are more familiar with. I'm Berthier, by the way." Michiru didn't reply and the woman, Berthier, pouted. "I suppose it's hard to be pleasant when you're in such a drab condition. Well, let's get you fixed up." Berthier reached to Michiru and placed a purple crystal earring in each ear, making the senshi feel heavy. The woman then removed the black earring from her own ear and held it to the chains. The crystal emitted a dark glow, then Michiru was released. Berthier helped Michiru stand, that bright look still on her face. "You'll feel better soon," she told her.

Somehow, Michiru doubted it.

* * *

 

_Serenity was haunted. Whether her eyes were open or they were closed, she kept seeing awful things. They couldn't be real, but she didn't know with certainty. She just didn't know. Luna's reaction to her kept playing back before her._

_"I thought you would never betray Crystal Tokyo… The senshi… Endymion…"_

_"It isn't like that!" Serenity cried desperately, clinging to Diamond._

_"How could you do something like this?" Venus questioned._

_"I never thought that you were that kind of person," Mercury said, shaking her head with visible disappointment._

_"He was suppose to be your true love," Jupiter added._

_"No. No! It isn't what you think! Endymion betrayed me!" she cried._

_"How awful," Mars said, moving close to Endymion. "I can't believe she would do that to you and then to lie to us about it when the evidence is right there."_

_"No…" Serenity shook her head. She turned to Diamond. "Diamond, please, help me convince them!"_

_Diamond looked away from her and stepped out of her arms. "Serenity…" he said quietly. "I am not certain that I can do this."_

_"What?"_

_"I don't think I can be with a woman that cheats on her husband."_

_"What are you saying?" Serenity asked him._

_"If you do would something like this to him, how do I know that you won't do this to me?" He asked._

_"You know that I wouldn't."_

_"I'm not sure that I do," he said, moving further away from her. "I'm sorry, Serenity."_

_An image of the Dark Kingdom's generals flashed before her eyes and a voice spoke in the back of her mind. **"They were victims and your Ginzuishou destroyed them. Your power only destroys. Why protect such a power?"** Images of other senshi flashed before her eyes. The starlights, Lethe and Mnemosyne, Kakyuu. " **Your crystal causes unrest and strife throughout the galaxy. These lives were ripped apart in pursuit of your crystal, would you protect such a power?"** The images of the death busters filled her mind, the corrosive image of Pharoh 90. " **Your crystal draws forth danger to those you love, brings trouble, brings death! Why would you protect such a power?"**_

_"I can't let the crystal fall into the wrong hands," she said in a pleading voice to herself._

_**"You are the harbinger of death! You are the keeper of destruction! You are the embodiment of strife!"**  The images of the fallen moon kingdom flashed before her. The death, the battles, the despair. **"And you are the protector of such devastating force!"** The voice was yelling now. **"Why do you protect such a power!"**_

_Serenity was crying now, keeping her eyes tightly shut. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save them! I did the best that I could!" She was hesitant to open her eyes. When she did, Diamond was before her. Overwhelmed, she launched herself into Diamond's arms._

_"Serenity," he whispered, holding her close. He stroked her hair and she clung to him as she cried. Then suddenly, she felt something pierce through her back and she couldn't breathe from the shock for a moment. **"Give me the Ginzuishou, Neo Queen."**_

_"No…"_

* * *

 

The senshi and Endymion were again gathered together in a private room. The faces were all grim after what they had learned about the Phantom and about what Nephthys had tried to do to King Jasper. No one felt inclined to speak first, so Venus naturally took charge. "So, what are we going to do?" she asked them, looking to Endymion the most. Angry as she was, he was still the King of Crystal Tokyo and she did serve Crystal Tokyo. "The Phantom has Serenity, Neptune, and possibly Uranus."

"We have to rescue Serenity!" Jupiter said forcefully.

"We don't know where Serenity is," Endymion pointed out. "And what if they attack Earth, next?"

"So what do you want us do, leave her?" Jupiter asked.

"No, that isn't what I'm saying," he replied, eyes hard.

"We know for a fact that the enemy is on Neptune," Mars said. "Maybe we could launch some sort of preemptive attack."

"That could cause problems diplomatically," Endymion argued. "Neither the people of Neptune nor the other planets know about this, they could take the news of our assault to mean that we are striking out for supremacy. They have to be worried about so many planetary senshi gathered on one planet."

"So what are we going to do, then?" Jupiter growled.

"I'll go to Neptune," Endymion said.

"What?" Echoed the voices of the senshi.

"If I go, it will simply be assumed that I'm visiting, nothing out of the ordinary," he said.

"That's too dangerous," Venus spoke up. "With Serenity missing, we can't risk you going missing too. Luna's too out of it take control of things right now and Artemis is a wreck over whatever the Phantom did to her mind."

"I trust you and Mercury to handle thing in my place," he said. "You are both very diplomatic and should anything happen, Jupiter and Mars will be with me."

"No way," Jupiter said sternly, turning a hate filled glare on Mars and Endymion. "I'm not going with the two of you."

"Jupiter—" Venus began to object.

"No!" she insisted, glaring at Mars and Endymion. "I won't protect traitors."

Mars returned Jupiter's glare and Endymion merely looked cold and indifferent.

"I'll go," Mercury said. "Neptune is a water-based planet, my powers would be the most natural to use."

"Mars would be at a disadvantage," Venus said with a frown.

"We don't have much other choice." Mercury said. "We need you to stay here. You and I are the most able to keep Crystal Tokyo functional in Serenity and Endymion's absence, and should something happen, it would be best to keep your power in reserve."

Venus frowned. "I don't like it," she said.

"There aren't many options if Jupiter refuses to perform her duties as a senshi," Endymion said.

"What did you say!" Jupiter slammed her hands on the table as she stood.

"Jupiter!" Venus scolded. "Now is not the time."

Jupiter stormed toward the door. "Tell me once we have a plan," she said as she stomped out the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Venus turned a glare toward Endymion. "That was both unnecessary and unwise," she told him. "There was no reason to piss her off further."

"I was only stating the truth and since we know her only condition, we can strategize better without her," he replied calmly. "How was King Jasper doing? Has he left?"

"He hasn't left yet and last I checked, he seemed fine," Venus answered. "Why?"

"Try and persuade him into accompanying us," Endymion said.

"Why?"

"According to his own testimony, he and Nephthys were known to be close on their planets. It will be less suspicious if we arrive in the company of someone like that. And, though he is not a senshi, he is likely to be able to bring some minor aid. Perhaps he can even convince his warriors to return to his side."

"It is a decent plan," Mercury admitted. "But should something happen, we may find it difficult to protect the both of you."

"I'll protect Endymion," Mars answered with fire in her eyes. "You can protect King Jasper."

"Do not forget, Mercury, that neither myself nor King Jasper is helpless. Should a situation arise, I will be capable of protecting myself should either of you be needed elsewhere." He looked at Mars when he said this and she lowered her head a little at the admonishment.

"Well, Venus?" Endymion turned to her. "You are the commander of the senshi. You have the final call on this matter."

Despite his words, his look told her that he had the power to overrule her if he wished and his asking was little more than formality. It made her angry, but she didn't have time for anger. Not when her princess—Queen—was missing. "It seems like a sound plan. Mercury, I want to put you in charge on this mission."

"Why?" Mars asked.

"Because Mercury is the best at strategizing and I believe that you will have distracted priorities," Venus said firmly. She met Mars eyes steadily and the fire senshi backed down.

"Now that we've settled that," Endymion said as he stood, "we should prepare to depart. We leave immediately."

* * *

 

Michiru did feel marginally better after a bath and a good meal, though not at ease. Berthier had not let her out of sight. Not while she dined, bathed, or dressed. It was not only annoying, but disheartening. She really did not think that she would get a chance to escape. The slight rest and food had raised her energy reserves enough that would be able to transform, but not enough to do much else. She wouldn't be much of a match for anyone in her condition.

Berthier gave her a big bright smile as she handed Neptune her henshin pen, saying in a cold but cheerful voice, "Don't forget that we have a deal. If you renege then so do we."

Michiru merely nodded her consent and the pen was placed in her hand. She activated her transformation quickly, feeling like she was finally back in her own skin. Finally back to being Neptune, instead of Michiru. Over the last few years she had become very comfortable in her senshi form and felt that it was an entirely separate identity from her civilian self.

"Now, let's go greet your people," Berthier said.

Neptune tried to keep her demeanor as calm and elegant as it had always been before as she stood before her people, Berthier at her side. The people had already been gathered and she got the feeling they had been made to wait. Part of her was surprised at how well this woman had organized everything so far. Who was this woman and where had she really come from? The questions flew through her mind, but she pushed them aside.

"People of Neptune, put your worry aside. I know that your queen has been long gone, but there is no need to fear her safety. While she has been kept her away and occupied on the other planets, it should not persist much longer. Until her return, be assured that I will be protecting you all and I do not plan to let any harm come to any of you." Neptune looked at all the faces in the crowd, trying to convey the seriousness of her words. She had not said a single thing that was false and intended to keep it that way. When she didn't add anymore, Berthier stepped forward.

"In order to assure your safety, your senshi will not be lingering too long on the planet's surface and is soon to depart. There should not be any worry, though. I will be here in contact with both the Queen and princess, so should any problems arise, bring them to me and I will handle them."

The address was ended soon after and they returned to the private quartersthat had been used earlier. The platinum blonde woman smiled at Neptune and said cheerfully, "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Neptune didn't answer, but it didn't seem to make much difference to the woman as her smile did not at all falter. They were only in silence for a moment before a knock came at the door and Berthier went to answer it.

"Yes? What? With such short notice? Turn them away! …Fine. We'll receive them," Berthier looked irritated when she return to the room. Neptune was merely curious, having heard only one half of the conversation. "It seems that you will have to play good senshi a little longer, so our trip to Uranus will be postponed."

It wouldn't surprise the senshi of seas if the other woman had been lying about letting her leave her planet in the first place, but she was still compelled to ask, "Why?"

"The King of Earth has decided upon an impromptu visit and there doesn't seem to be a way to delay him." She answered. "The same deal is in place, Michi. Be good and good things will happen, be bad and… well, you know."

"Don't call me Michi," Neptune said to her.

Berthier pouted again, this one looking even more put out than the first time. "Fine, fine… Neptune," she said. She walked forward and took Neptune's hands and the senshi fought the impulse to pull away. "Don't give me any reason to attack them, alright? I don't want to hurt innocent people."

"Then why are you threatening Queen Nephthys? Why are you threatening Neptune?" the senshi demanded.

"Queen Nephthys is not innocent," Berthier said softly. "I'm not surprised that you didn't know, you don't have any bearings on the political situation here, but she was planning a coup once she got the support from the other planets."

"You're lying," Neptune snapped as she pulled away.

"It's true. She was trying to join with King Horus—"

"How would you know anything about it?" Neptune asked.

"Because I was keeping tabs on her," Berthier told her. "She was seducing King Jasper and I wanted to know why."

"That isn't true," Neptune objected, but Birthier spoke over her.

"So when I looked into her, I found that she was also trying to involve herself with King Osiris of Pluto and King Set of Jupiter. She and King Horus were—"

"What proof do you have?" Neptune demanded.

"I know."

"What proof?"

"You don't have to believe me," Berthier relented. "But I know this to be the case. I'm just trying to protect—"

"You should reconsider who you're protecting."

Berthier glared at Neptune with icy eyes. "I know who I'm protecting. Who do you think you'll be protecting if you cause a scene like this when the Earth King arrives? Just because I don't want to hurt you, doesn't mean that I won't. So bite your tongue off if it'll keep you silent." Neptune was tense and primed to attack, but Berthier added, "You're still weak. Don't be a fool. I can put you back in the dungeon and no one would be the wiser. I'm trying to give you a little freedom. So get a hold of yourself and think about which option will serve you better."

Neptune was silent and the two stared at each other for a long moment. Neptune backed down first, letting herself sink deeply into a chair. There would be no point in her using up her meager strength now, not when she would have a much better chance of escape once King Endymion arrived, hopefully bringing the inner senshi with him.

Berthier retreated to a corner of the room, as far from the senshi of Neptune as possible. She removed her earring and held it above her face until a holographic image appeared at the tip. The image of the Phantom was before her and she spoke in a quiet whisper as if to keep her conversation secret. "The King of Earth just informed us of his intention to visit. The trip to Uranus will have to be postponed, unless you think I should leave him here without supervision…"

"No, stay to greet the King," said the Phantom. "Entertain him quickly and send him on his way."

"Right," she nodded. "But, are you certain… about Nephthys? Her daughter seems adamant that the Queen of Neptune just wouldn't do something like that."

"It's understandable that the daughter would want to think highly of the mother," the Phantom said. "But the senshi was not often on her planet, so she wouldn't be likely to know such a thing, would she?"

"No, I suppose not."

"And if Nephthys didn't think her daughter would support her, then she would be likely to hide such a thing, don't you think?" The Phantom's eyes began to glow as did the orb that floated between his palms. Birthier felt a shiver run through her that caused her to grip the crystal in her palm tighter. A surge of energy filled her and after tensing a moment, she felt calmer. "You shouldn't let the senshi's words shake you, Berthier. Once this is over, King Jasper and even the other planets will be grateful for what you've done."

"Yes, you're right. I shouldn't let my resolve be shaken so easily. King Jasper will have to be grateful once the truth comes out and doing something like this will have to increase our standing with the other planets."

"That's right. This is all for the good of Nemesis," the Phantom said.

"Alright, I'll try to get this task done quickly and join Calaveras on Uranus."

"Good."

* * *

 

Not long after the king's departure, Venus went to visit the two captives they were keeping. She had checked on Jupiter, who had gone to spar with the other guards so that she could take out some of her aggression. It was good training for them, but Venus hoped that Jupiter went easy on them. Even without using her powers, her strength had grown tremendously over the years and she could hurt them badly if she wasn't careful.

Venus went to the computer inside the room that held Luna and Nephthys, the latter still unconscious while the former was being watched over by Artemis. Something was really bothering her about Serenity being missing and she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Venus," Luna called out. "Is Serenity still missing?"

"Yes," Venus answered sadly.

"Have you checked to see if she is with Diamond?" Luna asked.

"Luna, you're still not in your right mind," Venus said softly. "Your thoughts are confused."

"I know you won't believe me, but I know that I saw Serenity and Diamond together."

"Luna." Venus turned around to face the humanoid feline. "Serenity would never do anything to jeopardize Crystal Tokyo. I know that for a fact. And you know that. You know her."

"I didn't want to believe it either," Luna said in a despairing tone. "But I saw her with Diamond. She was kissing him! Betraying Endymion, Crystal Tokyo—"

"Serenity wouldn't—"

"I know what I saw!" Luna insisted.

"Why would she do that?" Venus asked, trying to be reasonable. "Why would she be kissing the Prince of Nemesis?"

"I don't know," Luna said. "But if she is a danger to Crystal Tokyo, then her being away and out of sight is dangerous. She could be—"

"Luna, I don't want to hear this," Venus snapped. Something was worrying her, now. She knew what Luna did not, that Endymion and Serenity already had a rift between them and it had been that way for a long time now. Not to mention that Serenity and Mars had gotten into a fight not a week ago. Earth was allied with Nemesis. Serenity and Diamond were close. They were friends, that wasn't a secret, but more? Serenity would have told her… _'But she didn't tell you about her and Endymion, did she?'_   her mind replied. Maybe it would be worth a look…

Venus quickly typed up a letter announcing herself and her intentions to visit. It was improper to show up out the blue without notice. It was improper to announce your intentions without requesting a visit to another planet, but this couldn't wait. Serenity would never betray Crystal Tokyo. That was a fact and Venus did not doubt that at all. But all the pieces were starting to point to Serenity and Diamond having been together. King Jasper had said that Diamond had been attacked and Luna, even if she was confused, says that she saw Serenity and Prince Diamond together, so it was worth a look.

"Artemis," Venus called. "Look after things for me. I have something to take care of."

"Alright," he replied.

She was probably wrong, but it never hurt to check and Jupiter and Artemis could hold down the fort until she returned. It wouldn't be that long of a trip.

* * *

 

_Serenity didn't think that she could take anymore. All the pain and doubt that filed her mind was driving her mad. She couldn't waver. She had to protect the crystal. She had to be strong. But she'd already begun to waver, hadn't she? The Ginzuishou only brought pain. It brought darkness and death. To her mother, to the moon kingdom, to her friends, to people that would never have had to become enemies if not for someone seeking the dangerous object. Her life would be happier, wouldn't it, if she gave up the crystal? No one would come for her, no one would be harmed… But she couldn't protect anyone either… So what was she to do?_

Diamond was hovering close to Serenity. Over the last few hours, her body temperature had begun to drop and he was worried that she was taking a turn for the worse. He was hovering half over her body with his forehead pressed to her own. He wanted to give her warmth, but he couldn't bring himself to move improperly close to her. Not that he wasn't already improperly close.

"Serenity," he said to her. "Serenity, please… Please, open your eyes. Serenity… whatever's happening, you have to fight it." He worried about doing so before, but now that she seemed to be getting weaker, he had to try something. He pulled on the power from the dark crystal and tried to push it into her, to strengthen her. Not all people took to the energy of the dark crystal very well and he had been hesitant to try forcing it into her. But her own power was failing her and all that was left was to try and give her his own. "Please Serenity, please, I need you to wake up. I need you." A tear slipped from his eye and landed on her cheek as he placed his hands in her hair and continued trying to share his energy with her.

_Serenity's head snapped up as she felt something strange. Something other than the black energy that surrounded her and different from the familiar force of the Ginzuishou. She was hesitant to reach out to the energy, but it felt… not familiar, the way the Ginzuishou did, but like something that she could recognize. It was cold, unlike the warm energy that she radiated, but not unpleasant. It was a soothing cold, a calming feeling, like a splash of water in her face that cleared her mind._

_"Serenity." She heard Diamond's voice and she reached out for the power. It couldn't reach her through the barrier of her own energy. Determined, she let down her barrier, the black energy rushing at her, and she reached quickly for the cold energy that reminded her of Diamond. The cold power reached for her, as well, battling with the black force that tried to consume and corrupt her, and she felt Diamond's presence._

_"Diamond," She said to herself, taking comfort from the presence. The thoughts hit her then, the thoughts that plagued her over and over again about how she had betrayed and brought misfortune to all her friends, everyone around her. The thought of them leaving her, of Diamond leaving her. The thoughts overwhelmed her mind and she couldn't think._

Serenity's body became colder and her skin turned pale. Diamond felt panic course through him. For just a moment, she had seemed as though she was coming back to him, but now she was worse off than before. He couldn't let her go! He couldn't! He summoned the energy from his dark crystal, leaned close to Serenity and kissed her, pouring all the energy he could muster into her. Trying to strengthen her, trying to protect her, trying to give her the energy to fight off the force that was plaguing her. With all his power he willed her to wake, willed her to respond, willed anything to happen! _'Please.'_ He thought desperately. _'Please!'_

_Clarity hit Serenity full force as a wave of that clear, cold energy poured into her. She felt like a weight was lifted off of her as she felt Diamond's presence so close to her, so clearly by her side. The confusion had not completely subsided, but that one fact was all she needed. Even if it was just one person that needed her, that wanted her, that loved her, it was enough to fight off the darkness._

_Serenity lifted her hands above her head, the Ginzuishou held firmly between her palms, then she unleashed her power against the darkness._

Serenity gasped as soon as Diamond moved away from her lips, her eyes flying open and her heart beating at an accelerated rate. Diamond was above her, his head hovering not far from her own as he stood next to the bed. They stared at each a long time before Serenity began to tear up, a smile lighting her face. "Diamond!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly.

His arms wound around her waist automatically. "Serenity!" He was so relieved, so overwhelmed, that he dipped his head back to hers for one more kiss. She pulled him close, both holding on tightly to the other until he was pulled onto the bed over her, but neither really noticed. The kiss was long and deep, filled with love and desperation and a wild need to convey their feelings. Once they broke apart, their eyes were glued to the other. "I was so afraid… So afraid that I wouldn't get you back," he whispered to her.

"I thought the same thing," she said. "I… I don't want to lose you, Diamond. I… I think that I…"

Serenity never got to finish that statement. The door behind them opened and the voice of a very angry senshi yelled out, "Get away from my princess!"

And then Diamond gasped as a beam of light went through his chest and his body pitched forward onto Serenity's. Her eyes were wide and she was frozen almost in shock. Blood was spilling onto her from his wound and his body wasn't moving. Shaking and afraid, Serenity whispered fearfully, "Diamond…"

"Prince Diamond!" Emerald cried from the doorway.

Serenity felt numb to everything that was happening in the room except for the body that was in her arms. He wasn't moving. He wasn't moving! She was quickly becoming hysterical in her mind as more and more blood poured out of him. And then she screamed. "DIAMOND!"

* * *

 

The image of Berthier fled The Phantom's crystal as the communication was ended, and he turned to the King of Mercury. Thoth was standing not far from him, conversing with two women, but turned to the Phantom as soon as he knew the man was no longer occupied.

"The King of Earth has left his planet," the Phantom reported. "And the Neo Queen should still be weakened from my spell."

"Then move immediately," Thoth said. "Ready all forces and move against Earth."

 


	7. So Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venus makes mistakes and The Ayakashi sisters fight.

 Venus was anxious when she was received on Nemesis, but tried not to let it show. Calmly, she requested to be taken to see Prince Diamond, insisting that it was urgent when she was told that the prince was not well. She was lead to a room, but someone stood in the way. She vaguely recognized the woman, but couldn't place the name. "You can't go in there," the green haired woman told her.

"Why not?" Venus questioned.

"The Prince is not receiving visitors right now."

"Well, it's really urgent that I talk to him," Venus said.

"You'll have to wait," Emerald replied insistently.

Venus' express set in a hard line and she pushed the woman to the side. "Get out of my way," Venus said, opening the door. She paused at the sight before her. Her princess was pinned beneath Diamond, his lips pressed down onto Serenity's. Venus didn't think. Someone was trying to take advantage of her princess. Someone had taken her princess and was now trying to force themselves onto her. She didn't think. She acted. She raised her hand to attack the man that had her princess pinned and she was yelling without meaning to. "Get away from my princess!" She launched her crescent beam straight at Diamond.

The woman pushed Venus to the side just after her attack, her eyes widening in shock. The first thing she noticed was the growing stain on Diamond's white suit and the woman called out to him immediately. "Prince Diamond!" Before Venus could register anything else, Emerald turned to the offending warrior that had injured her prince. She threw out her hand, green energy shooting from her palm and knocking the senshi away. "You'll pay... for what you've done to him." She was shaking with rage as she charged the senshi.

"What I've done?" Venus cried in outrage as she dodged the woman's next attack. "What about what he's done? Kidnapping our queen! Trying to force himsel-" Venus' words were cut off as another shot of green energy flew at her and she had to dodge. She tossed her chain at the other woman, making a strike at her head, but Emerald dodged at the last second. Both woman were too angry for reason, so silence fell between them as they continued to fight.

* * *

 

The echo of a scream penetrated the underground layer of Saphir's lab and he looked up, wondering what the disruption could be. _'It can't be good,'_ he thought. He looked over to Rubeus, whose face also displayed concern. "Let's see what it is," he said. Rubeus nodded and the two teleported above.

Two separate things caught Saphir's attention as soon as he arrived where the commotion was from. One was the fierce battle between Venus and Emerald, the women looking like they were out to kill each other which caused a great deal of confusion in him, but the second claimed his attention entirely as soon as he noticed it.

He was in front of the open door to the room that Serenity and Diamond were in, the woman's eyes fearful and tear streaked as she cradled his brother's wounded body. Serenity noticed him right away, her voice shrill and hysterical as she called out to him. "Saphir! He's hurt, you have to help him! You have to help!"

Saphir was at his brother's side in an instant. "What happened?"

"His chest, you have to hurry!" Serenity pleaded.

Saphir lifted his brother's body into his arms and teleported away quickly. Serenity was still in shock, unable to move. Blood stained her white dress and she could still feel it spreading out over her. How had this happened? How had she allowed this to happen?

Outside the door, Rubeus was trying to interrupt the fight between Emerald and Venus. Neither woman was listening to him. The noise drew Serenity from her room and she yelled out, "Venus!"

The senshi of love came to stop immediately, her body responding to the harsh command before her mind did and Rubeus took the pause to restrain Emerald. Something like fear was creeping up within Venus as she looked at the hard eyes of her princess, eyes that she had never seen before. "Pr-princess?"

"Who asked you to come here, Venus?" Serenity questioned.

"No one… but you were missing and—"

"And who asked you to attack the prince of a planet known to be our ally?" Serenity interrupted harshly.

"I thought that he was—"

"WHO ASKED YOU TO DO THAT?" Serenity screamed.

"No one," Venus answered quietly.

"Exactly," Serenity said. "No one. Get out of here, Venus," Serenity said, turning her back to the other senshi. "I can't talk to you until I know that Diamond will be alright."

"But, Serenity—"

"If he dies, I will never forgive you," Serenity said quietly, but it carried to Venus and the senshi of Venus realized two things immediately that she should have already seen. The first was how serious and on edge Serenity looked, like she could kill if she had to, and it scared Venus. The second was that Serenity was in love with Prince Diamond and Venus had never noticed.

Venus did not want to leave like this. But staring at the shaking shoulders of her princess and the barely contained rage within, she realized that she didn't have a choice. Afraid that even an apology would throw her princess over the edge, Venus simply left.

What had she done?

* * *

 

It was nighttime on Earth when the attack came. Bombs rained down from the sky, falling first in the outskirts of Crystal Tokyo and moving inward. In this way, Jupiter had a great amount of warning before the palace came under attack. She ran through the halls telling soldier to be at the ready and searching for her fellow senshi, but found that she was alone.

That was bad.

Jupiter had no trouble taking on enemies by herself, but she didn't have any way to safely combat bombs. If the others were with her, they could create a forcefield. If Serenity were here, she could even do such a thing herself. There was a manual shield that Endymion had created that could be raised to protect the palace, but she didn't know how to use it! Endymion, Mercury, even Venus had learned to use it! But she was completely clueless.

"Dammit!" she swore. Where the hell had Venus disappeared, too?

"Commander, Jupiter!" The first ready set of soldiers called out to her. The soldiers were trained to follow any of the senshi's orders and though Venus was known to be their highest ranking commander, as she was also the leader of the senshi, they saw Jupiter just as highly, as she was the one that most often trained them. They had steady gazes, readily awaiting her command. They believed in her. Jupiter swallowed. This would not go as she wanted.

Putting her game face on, she steeled herself. Crystal Tokyo had been created with the anticipation of peace, but they had also been thoroughly prepared for war. "Someone quickly send word to alert the King of what has happened. Those of you trained for it, ready the cannons and meet me outside. D Squad and C Squad, evacuate the city. Move everyone inward and underground where you can. A Squads and B Squads, you'll come with me."

"Yes, commander!" They all replied at once. There was no time to hesitate. She didn't know what she could really do, but if she could detonate those bombs before they hit the ground, that would be a start.

They all ran quickly to the outside, moving outward so that they were close enough to attack the bombs, but not close enough to yet be hit by the resulting explosions. Planting her feet firmly and raising the antenna from her tiara, she released a large electrical wave into the sky, creating a wide spread net that set off several of the bombs. Beside her, the sound of cannons was nearly deafening, soon followed by the sounds of explosions in the sky.

"A Squad. B Squad. We're moving further out," she commanded. "We can't do enough damage from here." She turned to two scouts standing at the ready. "Send the word out to the next fleet readied that they should take the opposite side."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Move out!"

* * *

 

Neptune and Berthier greeted King Endymion and the senshi privately. The group was taken to a private room where the two waited and Berthier paused at the sight of King Jasper as he entered. Her shock lasted only a moment before she pulled herself together and greeted the group. "Hello to all of you. Welcome to Neptune, King Endymion. I regret to tell you that we have not yet prepared any accommodations for you. You gave us very short notice for your trip."

Endymion was about to reply when King Jasper stepped forward, eyes on Berthier. "Berthier," he said. "What are you doing here?"

The smile that was on her face faltered only slightly as she looked him. "I am the Neptunian adviser," she answered him. She turned her gaze back to Endymion. "Now, about your stay—"

"Why are you here, Berthier?" King Jasper repeated. He was wearing a sterner face than previously as he looked at her and she was forced to look back at him. "Why are you here, when you left with the Phantom?"

The two senshi moved into fight ready positions at the identification of their enemy and Endymion, too, held his cane at the ready, should he need to strike. Berthier answered very calmly. "King Jasper, I am here to take care of Neptune while the Queen is away. She asked me herself to keep her planet in good standing and I have been here for quite a while. Ask the people, they all know me."

"Where are the others, Berthier?" he demanded.

"I am sorry, King Jasper, but I can't tell you that. This is for your own good," she told him. "It is not my wish to bring you any harm, so please—"

"I think it would be for your own good to tell us where the other warriors and the Phantom are," Endymion said harshly.

Berthier glared at Endymion. "It is none of your business!" she said to him. "Worry about things that concern you!"

"If you won't tell us," Mars began, calling her fiery bow into her hands. "Then we'll make you!" She shot off fiery arrows at Berthier, but the woman was quick to dodge. She called her own watery powers to her and launched them towards Mars, who also dodged.

Endymion made his way with Jasper over to where Neptune stood. "Are you alright?" Endymion asked her.

"Yes, but I'm too weak to do anything," Neptune answered. "They did something to drain me of my energy. I barely have enough to remain in this state."

King Jasper reached hesitatingly towards the earring that was in Neptune's ear. "This looks like..." He touched the purple crystal and a shock of energy went through both Jasper and Neptune. The King let out a cry of pain and Berthier turned toward him.

"Do not touch that, my king! It will harm anyone but my sisters and the Phantom." Berthier called to him. Mars used the distraction to fire another arrow at Berthier, caching her in the back and Mercury followed up with an ice attack that cut into Berthier's arms and legs. She turned to glare at the two senshi. "You'll pay for that," she said, raising her own attack again. Mercury quickly created a fog to obscure them, forcing Berthier to pause, eyes straining to find where her two enemies had gone. A blast of water slammed into her from one side, followed closely by fire, which she tried to fight with her watery powers. "I won't go down that easily!" she yelled.

Berthier fought off the majority of the fire, charging in the direction that the attack had come from. She called both water and ice to her, to the room, pulling from the heavy condensation that hung in the Neptunian atmosphere. The temperature of the room dropped quickly. As soon as she caught sight of red through the slowly lifting fog, she attacked. A rush of freezing water slamming into the red senshi. Mars tried to counter, but the coldness lessened the strength of her fire as Berthier overwhelmed her. The water slowly turned to ice, taking over Mars limbs as the power continued to stream at her. Mercury took advantage of Berthier's focus being elsewhere. She walked up behind the blue clad woman and struck her hard against the back of her head, the blow being enough to daze and distract, but not yet enough to knock her out. Berthier tried to turn, but Mercury kicked her in her mid section mid-movement, knocking her into the wall. Berthier's head connected with the wall and she was knocked out cold.

Mercury rushed over to Mars, whose breathing was slow and labored. Endymion rushed to her side once the fog was completely lifted. He lifted Mars' cold, ice covered body into his arms. "Will she be alright?"

Mercury activated her visor and looked over her fellow senshi. "She should be fine, but we need to thaw her out and quickly." Mercury paused as a beeping came from somewhere in the room and she turned to see that Neptune had moved to one of the computers in the room.

"Oh no," The other senshi breathed out quietly.

"What is it Neptune?" Mercury questioned.

"A message from Earth," Neptune told her gravely. "Your planet is under attack."

"What!" Endymion exclaimed. "We've got to get back."

"Mars isn't in any condition to travel," Mercury said. "And if there's an attack, she won't be able to defend herself or rest properly."

"We can't leave her here," Endymion said.

"Mercury," Neptune called. "This thing." She pointed to her earring. "Can you get it off of me?"

Mercury took out her mini computer and began to tap at the keys rapidly. "I should be able to remove it, but it won't be painless."

"That doesn't matter." Neptune told her. "If you can get this thing off then I think I may be able to regain my energy. If I can do that, I can look after Mars while you both go back to protect your planet."

Mercury nodded. "That sounds like a good plan."

"And what if the Phantom returns here," Endymion protested. "We should not leave either of you."

"Your planet isn't any safer," Neptune returned harshly. "And if we go there now, neither of us is in the condition to help you or defend ourselves. If we stay, we'll at least have a chance. And this time I'll see him coming," Neptune added angrily.

"It's the best chance we've got," Mercury argued. "King Jasper, what can you tell me about this thing. You seemed to recognize it earlier?"

"It is similar to talismans that my people wear, but it's filled with a dark energy," he answered. "We use ours to contain magical energy. It connects us to our crystal."

Mercury nodded. "Then I may be able to destroy it and be done with it."

"What will you do about her?" Endymion asked, looking at the unconscious Berthier.

"Dungeons," Neptune answered without hesitation. "I'll take care of her, don't worry."

"I will remain here, as well," Jasper said. "If that is not a problem," he added, looking to the Neptunian senshi.

"No bother at all," Neptune replied. "We should do this quickly. Serenity will be needing your help."

The room fell quiet then, no one willing to admit that they had lost their princess. Subconsciously, Endymion's hold on Mars increased and Neptune's eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed the action.

* * *

 

Jupiter was increasingly angry as she watched the bombs that exploded in the distance. It was impossible to stop them all, though they had done their best to try. It pissed her off to no end thinking of the people that she had failed, was failing, with every far off explosion. And she had gotten reports of the enemy soldiers that had eventually began to attack as well. She hadn't had time to identify them as she went to fight them off, but she had been greeted by an unexpected sight.

Two female warriors were wiping out her soldiers like they were nothing! A blue haired woman that wielded matching fire who Jupiter recognized as Koan of Nemesis and a woman wearing green that shot black lightning named Petz. She didn't think of a strategy when she saw them, she just attacked. She was regretting that now. She had been so eager to take out her frustrations and anger over this attack, her missing princess, Endymion and Mars' betrayal, that she just wanted to hit something. To punish something. Taking on these two women was more than she had bargained for.

Petz caught one of Jupiter's punches in her hand as Koan launched a volley of fire balls at her. She couldn't dodge, so she unleashed a large electrical attack that lit up the entire area. She had already commanded the soldier that were still in the area to depart, so no one else would be caught in her attack. Both women let out grunts of pain, but Petz did not loosen her grip. Jupiter did not allow the woman to attack again, though. She lifted Petz off her feet and slung her over her shoulder, slamming her hand onto the ground. Jupiter didn't get much of a chance to feel victorious as Koan launched another burst of fire into her back, pushing her away from the woman.

"Petz, are you alright?" Koan asked, kneeling over her sister.

"Fine," Petz answered, slowly sitting up and glaring at Jupiter, who was also slowly rising. "Don't take your eyes off of her."

"I won't," Koan nodded, turning to face the senshi with hard eyes.

"We should end this before anyone else shows up," Petz said, charging her hands with lightning as she stood. Koan nodded in agreement calling fire into her palms.

Jupiter had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she rose to face her two opponents.

* * *

 

Venus stood in shock when she first arrived back on Earth, but immediately moved into action. It took her only a moment to find out that Jupiter had gone to fight and that word had been sent to King Endymion, and then she went to raise the shields around the palace and further, if the power would permit. She did all this anxiously, wanting to join Jupiter on the battlefield. How could she have been so stupid as to leave her fellow senshi alone? Once the shields were raised, she took off towards the location a soldier reported Jupiter to be.

She found her already engaged in combat, but it didn't look good. Venus quickly attacked one of the two women and ran towards her comrade. "Jupiter!" she called out.

Jupiter turned to face Venus with relief. "Venus!" she breathed out, but the moment of distraction was not ignored by her enemy. Petz released a blast of black electricity that hit Jupiter head on, causing her to cry out.

"No!" Venus yelled, unleashing an orb of yellow energy that exploded the ground beneath Petz's feet. "Are you okay?"

"These two are tough," Jupiter said, rather than answering the question.

"Don't worry," Venus replied. "We're together now." She turned to look at the blue haired woman who was readying another attack. Venus ran towards her, throwing out her chain and capturing Koan, who immediately began to struggle. "I don't think so," Venus said. "Jupiter, I've got one!" Venus called, turning to look at her fellow senshi.

Jupiter was trying to catch her breath as Petz came up behind her. She grabbed the senshi of storms, unleashing a charge of electricity that Jupiter fought with one of her own. The two powers collided and impacted with a large explosion, forcing Venus to cover her eyes and brace herself as the earth was rocked.

"Petz!" Koan yelled.

When Venus uncovered her eyes, both electric warriors were unmoving on the ground. Venus approached very slowly, hesitantly. "Jupiter…" She asked lowly, afraid to move too close, dreading the answer proximity would bring her.

"No!" Koan said, an angry look in her eyes. "You'll pay." She couldn't escape the chains, but she was able to maneuver her hands and summon an orb of dark power that crackle with black electricity. She used her fire to ignite it and the area that both she had Venus stood in went up in flames.

* * *

 

Serenity held her hand against the glass that surrounded Diamond. The wounded prince was laying still on a medical table with a glass covering, a dark energy pulsing over him. "Will he be alright, Saphir?" she asked softly, unable to turn her gaze from him.

"The energy from the dark crystal should help him, but I can't say for certain," he told her. Saphir was standing behind her, his eyes also watching Diamond. Rubeus and Emerald were standing together by the door, silent and turned away from the two.

"I'm going to fix this," she said. "I'm going to save Diamond and I'm going to defeat the Phantom."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Emerald asked her. "How do you plan to fix this when this is your fault!"

Serenity turned to met Emerald's gaze steadily. Both woman had watery eyes and tear stained faces, but Serenity's was resigned with sorrow and Emerald's face was filled with anger. "Once I defeat The Phantom, and this plague is gone from us all, we will all be able to heal," she told Emerald. She turned back to face Diamond, whispering to him. "Wait for me, Diamond. Heal swiftly, for I shall need your help in grabbing the happiness we both deserve." A tear fell onto the glass, and Serenity watched him a moment longer before turning to leave.


	8. Say You Love Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serenity plans, Consequences unfold, and emotions abound.

The Earth was scourged. Deep craters could be seen, even near the palace, but whatever damage had been caused would not be expanded upon, because the shields guarding the palace had been activated. King Endymion and Mercury had no problem passing through the barrier, expressions somber. Artemis greeted them as soon as they entered the palace.

"What happened?" Endymion asked as soon as he saw the other man.

He made a gesture for them to follow him, talking as he went, not waiting. "An attack was launched and we took some heavy damage before the shield went up. Jupiter and Venus have been heavily injured in battle, but we managed to capture two of the rogues that King Jasper mentioned." Artemis paused in speech, but not motion. "Where is Mars?"

"We had to leave her behind on Neptune," Mercury answered. "She was injured by one of the warriors, as well, and we were expecting a fight."

"Yes, well-"

"Artemis!" Luna's voice called, interrupting him.

Suspicion and alarm lit their faces, and they moved into a battle position, before Artemis moved in front of her. "Wait!" he said. "As I was about to say, her majesty has returned. Serenity-"

"Serenity is back!" Mercury said with relief.

Endymion's voice was hard as he asked, "Where has she been? How did she return? And what is she doing free?"

"Serenity used her crystal and healed her of The Phantom's influence. There wasn't time to ask what had happened. She arrived and upon seeing the attack, she had to see to the shields and order the troops. Venus had gone to search her out, but when she returned, the attack was already underway-"

"Wait. Let's have this story in order," Endymion said.

"King Endymion," Luna interrupted. "Serenity would like you to meet with her alone. She instructed me to tell you to meet her in the communication room. Artemis, she wants you and Mercury to guard the prisoners. They are in dire condition and she wants someone to question them when they wake."

"Alright," Mercury agreed slowly, but it was clear that she wanted to see Serenity. To confirm for herself that her queen -her princess, her friend- was safe.

"I'll tell you what I know on the way," Artemis said.

"And what are your orders?" Endymion questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Not to let you dally in meeting with her," Luna answered.

Displeased with that answer, with not knowing the full situation, with the current state of affairs and having too many questions unanswered, he went to find Serenity, intent to get his answers.

Serenity was typing on one of the large screen computers that filled the room when he entered, staring intently at the screen. "Thank you, Luna. You are dismissed." Serenity said without turning to face the two.

Luna left without a word, not saying anything. Endymion's eyes were narrowed with suspicion, but Serenity was not looking at him to see. "How have you returned? We thought that you'd been taken by the Phantom."

"Attacked, but not taken," she told him. "Whatever else The Phantom is after, one of his goals is to gain access to the Ginzuishou."

"So what happened?" he asked.

"I was wounded and trapped in a coma for a time. At least, that's what I'm told. It seemed only like a nightmare to me. Venus... is the reason that I was returned. She and Jupiter were wounded, they are being taken care of. I was able to snap Luna from whatever control the Phantom had of her. But Nephthys-"

"Turn to me," he said.

Serenity paused in her typing. "Why?"

"I need to see your face. To know if it's really you."

"It's me."

"Let me see your face!" he repeated angrily. He was too worried about his planet, about his people, about Mars, to keep his calm. She stopped whatever she was doing and turned to him, her eyes hard and determined. It wasn't a look he was used to on his queen, but it was a look he was familiar with, coming from the face of the moon senshi.

"Your turn to answer me," she said. "What has happened here?"

He told her about the events on Neptune, about Berthier, and about Mars. Her face didn't change as she took it all in.

Once he was finished, she spoke. "I'm going to need you to take care of things here."

"You are leaving?" he asked her.

"Not now," she told him. "But the Phantom has to be dealt with and I can fight him with the Ginzuishou. I've contacted Queen Isis and Queen Hathor. I trust them and I've asked them to tell me a few things about the other planets." She turned back toward the computer. "Saturn is prepared to help me whenever I choose to go after The Phantom. Hathor... I am convinced that neither she nor her people have any reason to attack us. The threat is not primarily based on Neptune or Nemesis. That leaves Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto. Neither Pluto nor Uranus would have been able to attack in the time it took you to reach Neptune. Not without giving themselves away. That being said, it had to have been one of the inner planets. I doubt that King Ra would see fit to strike us... Neither King Horus nor King Thoth were present when we all met on Mars, so I suspect one of them to be taken over by the enemy and the other to be in a more dangerous position with our enemy."

"You've been busy," he said.

"Yes," she answered.

"So what are you planning to do?"

"I have to take the fight to them before they bring it once more to us."

"That's too dangerous," he told her. "You haven't fought in years. You can't even become a senshi."

"Then I will fight them as a queen," Serenity answered. "My mother was able to do so."

"Your mother gave her life," he reminded.

"And because of that, her people were able to have a second chance. I want to strike before the end comes for me." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she added, mostly to herself, "I've spent too long doing nothing already."

* * *

 

Many hours had passed by the time Mercury found Serenity, still cloistered in the comm room. Though she looked tired, Serenity was very alert. As soon as the senshi of Mercury entered the room, she began to speak. "Endymion told me what happened and I was able to talk to Neptune. Mars is recovered and the warrior of Nemesis is imprisoned. It doesn't seem as if the Phantom yet knows what has happened there."

"Serenity," Mercury said softly, moving closer to her queen. She was about to reach out to her, but Serenity spoke again and Mercury dropped her hand.

"Were you able to obtain any information from the two warriors here?" Serenity asked. "I was afraid to risk trying to heal them of the Phantom's power, in case it would disrupt whatever knowledge they had."

"I'm sorry, my queen, but I wasn't able to get much out of them," Mercury said. "They were... too damaged for heavy interrogation."

"Neptune suspects that the last warrior is on Uranus, which would explain why King Horus was missing from the event on Mars. Clearly, he wanted to bring down the other planets. From the inside and out. It'll be difficult to-"

"Serenity," Mercury interrupted. "Are you alright?"

"Pardon?"

"Before you disappeared, Mars told us... about she and Endymion. Why the two of you had that fight on Mars."

"And so?"

"And I want to know if you are alright," Mercury insisted. "On top of that, what's happened with the Phantom, it must be stressful."

Serenity was silent a moment. "I wonder if Pluto can be persuaded into aiding our cause. I don't recall her being expressly forbidden to speak, so maybe-"

"Do not change the subject, Usagi!" Mercury exclaimed. "I can't stand to see you this way. To think that you were hurting all this time and didn't even tell us. Didn't even tell me." Serenity turned to face her at this point, seeing the sorrow and distress in her senshi's eyes. "Why?" she asked. "Why didn't you talk to me? Even if you didn't tell me what was wrong, you made us think that you were happy. That everything was fine. I thought that the distance was just because you had become used to being queen, but now- Is it something that I did? Is it my fault that you thought you couldn't tell me? Did I make you think that you couldn't trust me?" Mercury questioned desperately.

"It wasn't you," she told her. "It wasn't any of you. It was selfishness, disbelief, denial... I kept thinking that it could not be true, that maybe it was all some terrible dream that I kept having. I couldn't admit to it. I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want... this..."

"What?" Mercury asked. "Our concern?"

"Your pity," she answered. "All along, I've endured your pity. Pity because I was the tragic princess of the moon. Pity because I had to fight. Pity when I struggled to lead, struggled in school, struggled to become a queen and let you all go. I wasn't willing to surrender to that again once I had finally gotten the hang of things. I wasn't willing to have another person tell me that it was my fault Endymion couldn't love me. Or that it wasn't. And I didn't want for any of you to see me as the same person I was before that needed to be coddled and protected. For my people and for my senshi, all my senshi, that so desire me to be happy, I kept silent. For myself, so that I could still believe in something, just a little."

Mercury wrapped her arms around Serenity, tears falling from the senshi's eyes and onto her queen's cheek. "Please... Usagi..." Mercury's arms went around her tighter. "Don't ever do that again. Don't ever... hide something like that. How am I suppose to forgive myself for not knowing you were in pain? What kind of friend am I, that I didn't know such a huge part of your life had..."

"Don't blame yourself, Mercury. This isn't something that Usagi did. This was something done by Serenity. A queen must be good at keeping herself together, even at the expense of herself. Even if she must lie and set herself apart from her friends. Even if-" Serenity broke off as her words caught in her throat. "Even if she must admit that her world cannot be a perfect one. So don't blame yourself. You bare no blame."

* * *

 

The surface of Uranus was very windy and Calaveras did not particularly like it. The structures on the planet were all built to be open and accommodating to the near constant gust that swept the planet's surface, making it easy to keep an eye out, though the pressure could be suffocating at times. She was becoming... worried. Berthier was suppose to have met her by now, but she hadn't heard a word from her. Standing a top one of the tallest constructs, one of the palace towers, she looked around, hoping for some sign of her sister's arrival. Conflicts could arise when handling dangerous and hostile situations, delays happened. She just hoped that it would not turn out to be anything more serious.

A flashing began in the crystal of her earring and she took it off and held it on her palm until the image came into view. The Phantom's holographic picture looked out at her. "Update me on your status, Calaveras."

"Nothing has changed here," she reported. "I'm still waiting for Berthier to arrive."

"Something has delayed her?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I haven't received any word."

"She may have lost control of the situation," the Phantom said. "I want you to go and rescue Berthier. Bring her back, Understand."

Calaveras nodded. "I'll have her back in no time."

* * *

 

It was quiet when Venus began to come to. Her body felt sore, memories of the fire -or had it been a bomb? - filled her mind. Her head was pounding and she was thankful for the silence. "Finally waking up?" She heard Mercury's voice. The water senshi was leaning over her, making adjustments on devices she hadn't realized that she was connected to. "You've been out for hours since I've arrived. Probably longer."

"Jupiter?" Venus wondered aloud.

"She's in another room. She hasn't come to, yet," Mercury explained. "She was injured worse than you were."

"What happened?" Venus asked her. "Those two..."

"We've got them in their room. The queen wants them to be interrogated, but they aren't fully healed," Mercury told her. Once she was done with whatever she was doing, she sat down beside Venus' bed. "The attacks seems to be staved off so far. Whoever orchestrated the attack pulled back once there was resistance." Venus sat up, or tried to. She was still wounded and her body hitched with pain before she could raise herself up all the way. "Careful," Mercury said.

"Serenity," Venus said. "She... she's back?"

"Yes. She was here when Endymion and I returned," Mercury told her. "But... there's something off about her. Even before, she didn't act so coldly. I wish I knew what was wrong."

Venus felt a pang in her gut that was mostly guilt. It was her fault that her queen was in pain and she knew it. What had she done? She had likely killed the Prince of Nemesis and if that wasn't bad enough, it sounded like she'd killed her queen's heart along with him. How could she have let something so important slip by her notice? She was supposed to know these things. She knew about Mars and Endymion, so how had she not known about her queen and the prince of Nemesis? The more she thought about it, the more upset she was with herself. There had been signs, but they were so subtle, how could she have known to pay attention to them? All her focus was on what was happening between her queen and Endymion. But thinking about it now, it was the lack of signs that should have tipped her off. She was almost never with the Prince of Nemesis when anyone else was around, but Serenity had always been friendly. The fact that she seemed never to be around the prince should have tipped her off. But they all thought that Nemesis was on the verge of going rogue, so... How was she to know?

"What's wrong, Venus? Are you in pain?" Mercury was leaning over her now, slightly panicked.

Venus hadn't realized that tears had risen to her eyes. Did Serenity hate her for what she had done? She was supposed to be her friend and yet...

"Has she... has she said anything?" Venus asked. "Serenity?"

"About what?"

"About... where she was. How she got back."

"Not to me, though she met with Endymion alone first, so maybe she told him," Mercury answered.

 _'No,'_ Venus thought. _'She wouldn't have told Endymion about what happened.'_

"Venus," Mercury pulled her from her thoughts once more. "Something is bothering you. What is it?"

Venus just shook her head. What could she say? That she had attacked, maybe killed, the person that her queen... That her queen... what? Loved? Did Serenity love him? She didn't even really know. Should she tell Mercury about what she had done to the Prince of Nemesis? How could she? "I... I think I just need more rest, Mercury," Venus told her. That wasn't a lie. She did feel weak. Weak in more than one way. "I think I'd like to be alone."

Mercury's face was creased with worry, but she nodded. "Okay. Try to get some rest. We need you at your best for what may come."

Venus couldn't say anything in return. She wasn't sure if she could be at her best. Not after what she had done.

* * *

 

Pluto stood in the misty space between realms, in which she guarded the door that led through time and space, watching it open as she allowed someone to pass through to this place. It was not something she did often, but the senshi of time did not have many confidants, and so at times like these, there really was only one person that she could speak to. Well, there were two, but she could not speak to the senshi of Saturn that was in the same timeline as herself, and if she were going to bend rules at this time, she felt better speaking to this person.

She was not allowed to leave her post, but there were various points in time where she was visited. All she had to was allow them to come to her. Stepping through the door was the one person in which she had always confided, as much as she could. The one person that had always seemed to know as much, if not more, than she did. Pluto went down on one knee to greet her, head bowed. "Queen Selenity. I am honored by your visit."

"Stand, Persephone. You know that is not the greeting I wish from you," Queen Selenity said, gliding forward elegantly. She seemed to glow like moonlight as she smiled, then she laughed a little. "I should say Pluto, shouldn't I? You are not Persephone any longer, I suspect."

Pluto didn't answer that as she stood. No, she was the same girl that Queen Selenity had placed in charge of the door, but the queen wasn't to know that. She wasn't to know how much time had passed for her. Though as always, she seemed to have a sixth sense about these things.

"Well you seem to have something to say, don't you?" the queen said. "Talk to me, then. You know that I visit so that you will speak with me."

"Yes," Pluto answered. "I am... worried," she said carefully. "Nothing is set in stone, but things are progressing in a way that I did not expect."

"Oh Persephone," The Queen sighed, coming up to wrap her arms around Pluto in an embrace. She almost always addressed Pluto by name. Not always the same, name. There were times, different timelines, where she did not have the same name, and the queen seemed to realized this, but she addressed her by name nonetheless. It was a kindness that Pluto was always grateful for. She never doubted where the princess had gotten such a kind heart from. "Time is meant to be fluid, ever changing. I was supposed to have taught you this in the beginning, but I thought that experience would be a better teacher; that all things would come as they were meant to, but perhaps too much time has passed."

"My queen?" Pluto responded in curious confusion. It was amazing how the queen of The Silver Millennium could surprise Pluto so much. Hadn't she had all these interactions before? Hadn't Pluto lived these moments again and again? And yet, they were not repetitive in any way. Was it something Pluto did, or didn't do, that changed these small interactions that should have been history?

Queen Selenity stepped away to look at her. "Why do you think that I assigned you to guard this place? You know that it was not a punishment, don't you?"

"I have never thought that it was," Pluto told her. "You placed me here to protect the door."

"Think of the things that I have forbidden you. You are not to leave. You are not to allow anyone to pass. You are not to stop time. And yet, only one of these offenses is at the cost of your life. Do you know why?" When she was met with silence, Queen Selenity continued. "It is because these mandates are, like time, meant to be changed if need be. I could easily have sealed this door so that it was not possible to travel through, I could have kept this rod so that time could not be stopped." The queen placed her hand on the orb of the garnet rod that the senshi held tightly. "Time is not meant to be stopped, it is meant to change. There are no constants, but such a power cannot be used freely. No one should be allowed access to the gate freely and you should not be able to tamper with it without consequence, but that does not mean that things cannot, or should not, be changed."

At this, Pluto looked surprised. "You think that I should change things?"

"Do not misunderstand me," Queen Selenity said. "Perhaps there are times when I am not a queen, where The Silver Millennium does not flourish, that is as it is. You are a warrior, Pluto, with a rare window into possibility. You will know when a threat is too great to be over looked. I know that no one person can be perfect in judgement, that is why if there is something that you find yourself incorrect over, you have the ability to change it." Her hand went to the numerous keys that hung around Pluto's waste. "Every opportunity for change is in your hands. Do not be afraid to use it."

Pluto's face became contemplative as she touched the keys that hung around her waste. "How am I to know when to intervene?" she whispered.

"You already know," The Queen said. "You must have seen yourself, watching it all. Times when you acted for the better, times when you acted for the worse. I placed you here when you were young so that you would not be biased by my kingdom. The rise and fall of my reign is not the center of the universe, even if it is the center of The Silver Millennium." Pluto opened her mouth to speak, perhaps to make an objection, but the queen did not let her. "You and the other outer senshi are to protect this solar system from those that wish to destroy it. The inner senshi are meant to protect the kingdom. Ideally, you play your part when those two purposes meet, but I leave you the choice to do as much or as little as you see fit."

Queen Selenity turned to head back toward the door and Pluto took an alarmed step toward her. "You are going?"

"Aren't I?" the queen responded. "Isn't that how these meetings are supposed to go?"

Pluto's eyes widened with shock and Queen Selenity laughed. "I do so enjoy surprising you, Persephone. You are easier to read than the last time that I saw you," she smiled. "Have you missed me?" Pluto blushed at her queen's teasing. The woman could take her off guard with her playfulness. "If you miss me so, then do not wait so long before you speak with me, Setsuna."

At that, Pluto's mouth fell open and she stared at Queen Selenity in unrestrained surprise. "Wha- why did you-"

The queen gave a coy laugh. "You have lost your poker face, Setsuna. I asked you once what names you may take in the future and you told me of the possibilities. I have simply guessed well."

"You tease me too much, majesty." Pluto said once she could recovered herself.

"You are still a child to me sometimes. I must tease you or you would lose what keeps you alive, Setsuna." She gave a sad and wistful smile to the senshi of time. "It was one of my favorites, you know. I will forever think of you as Persephone, I fear." The door opened and Queen Selenity stepped through it back to her own time, back to the moon kingdom, and Pluto was sad to see her go.

"I will miss you, my queen," Pluto said softly.

"Do not think that you will not see me, again." The queen's voice floated through. "You are one of my dearest friends... Atropos..."

The name was spoken so softly that Pluto could only barely make it out. Queen Selenity always surprised her. She wondered if she would ever learn all of her queen's secrets or if, even with a portal into time and space and a long life with which to use it, she would never know. Then again, if Atropos was one of her names -she had no recollection of ever looking into her own possible futures, as she assumed that she would always remain in the same place -perhaps it was she who was playing a trick on herself, confusing as some would find the concept.

* * *

 

"You've got them?"

Serenity's eyes were on the computer, where an image of Saphir was on the screen. He looked stern. Then again, she was certain that she did, too. She could barely make out the forms of Emerald and Rubeus in the background.

"Only two of them," Serenity answered. "I thought that you might have an interest in hearing what they have to say. Or in helping to interrogate them."

"Meaning you can't do it yourself," Emerald snapped in the background.

"Emerald," Saphir snapped. "Watch what you say."

Serenity didn't respond to the woman. "My crystal can cleanse them of whatever influence the Phantom may have over them, if he has anything over them, but I fear doing that before I question them. I do not know if doing so will corrupt their knowledge of his plans."

"I want to talk to them first then," Rubeus spoke up. His expression was angry, but it didn't seem to be directed at her. "I trained them. I know them. I can get them to talk and I want to hear for myself why they've betrayed us."

Saphir looked at Rubeus before turning his attention to Serenity again. "It seems we'll take you up on that offer."

"Then feel free to arrive at any time," Serenity told him.

"One more thing," Saphir said. "My father..."

"He and King Endymion visited Neptune before I returned, and he stayed behind to deal with another of your warriors."

"Then there is only one Ayakashi sister left," Saphir said. "And he's on Neptune, you said."

"Yes. Perfectly unharmed, as far as I know. I am certain that you could speak to him if you contact them. Queen Nephthys is still here, so you do not have to worry about that."

"Thank you for the information, Neo Queen Serenity."

Serenity nodded. "I'll be expecting you, Rubeus," she said, then the feed cut off.

* * *

 

When Koan awakened, Rubeus was the first face that she saw and her expression became one of delight. "Rubeus, what are you doing here?" she asked, still shaking off the darkness of unconsciousness. She sat up quickly when she realized what had last happened. "Where-"

Rubeus pushed her back down, hovering over and blocking her view of the room. His face was stern, even angry, but that wasn't unusual for him. "I have some questions, Koan," he said to her. "Why did you betray Nemesis?"

Her expression became angry as she hissed, "I would never!"

"Then why did you leave?" he asked her. "Why are following the Phantom?"

"To protect Nemesis, of course," she told him. "He said that the king had been fooled, but I didn't think that you..."

"Fooled about what?" Rubeus demanded.

Koan's eyes narrowed with anger and a glow seemed to come over them. "That Neptunian Queen that was trying to worm her way into the king's heart," she nearly spat. "That harlot of a woman was trying to use our king. She was trying to involve our king in a rebellion. Worse, she was involved with the other kings. She's been lying to him! All this time-"

"What proof do you have?" he asked her.

"I know it! I saw... I know that she was. I have to protect our king. I have to protect him."

"It is the same as the others." It was only now that Koan realized that she was not alone with Rubeus. She turned her head sharply to the voice, finding Neo Queen Serenity in the corner. "The Phantom must have convinced her that she saw something that she did not."

Koan made a fast movement to get out of the bed, but Rubeus pinned her down. "You think that you can banish this?" He asked.

"Yes," Serenity answered. "But I do not know what effect it will have. What was done to my people was not so bad and Queen Nephthys was so influenced by the Phantom's other methods that even being cleansed did not free her of him. The results-"

"Just do it," Rubeus said. "If they can't be saved, better to know now that they have to be taken out."

Koan's eyes widened. "Rubeus, you can't mean that," she whispered hoarsely. His face was stern and serious and she did not find an inch of compassion. "Please say you don't mean that. You would never want to... to hurt me..."

Serenity approached, holding the Ginzuishou in her hand. "Step back. I don't want to risk hurting you."

Rubeus stepped away from her and Koan panicked. "I only wanted to do what was best for Nemesis! To protect our king! I only wanted... I only wanted for you to love me!" she yelled. "If you're going to kill me, at least say that you love me first! Please!" She was met with silence and tears flowed from her eyes as she was enveloped by the energy of the Ginzuishou.


	9. Can't Hold On To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom makes things fall apart.

Berthier was in pain when she opened her eyes and unable to much move. Not because of the pain, but because she was restrained to the wall. King Jasper reached out to lift her face to see him once he saw her waking. She groaned in pain as his face came into focus. "King Jasper..."

"Talk to me, Berthier," King Jasper said. "Tell me why you're doing this. What has The Phantom told you?"

"King Jasper, I'm just trying to protect you. Can't you see that?" Berthier asked him.

"From what are you protecting me?" he questioned.

Berthier looked at him sadly. "Queen Nephthys was using you, we just wanted to protect you. The Phantom told us... he showed us... I saw..."

"Berthier, The Phantom mislead you," he told her. "He used you."

"But I saw what she was doing with my own eyes," Berthier said.

"It was a deception. Nephthys wouldn't do something like that."

Berthier shook her head slowly. "I saw it with my own eyes and The Phantom promised that we were only doing what would help Nemesis."

"Berthier." King Jasper's face became stern. "Are you going to believe the word of an adviser or listen to your king?"

"I... King Jasper... " She shook her head.

"Don't worry about what you saw or what The Phantom may have told you. If you want to protect me, then do not go off with the Phantom. Stay by my side," he told her. "And convince your sisters to come back to me."

"... As you wish, my king," Berthier whispered.

"King Jasper!" The two both jumped as Calaveras came toward them. "Why are you here, majesty?"

"I came for Berthier," he answered. "Once I found she was here, I had to speak with her. What of yourself?"

"I thought that something was wrong," she answered. Her eyes racked over the scene critically. "What happened?"

Berthier looked at King Jasper for a moment before turning to Calaveras. "Neptune did this to me. She broke free."

"Help me release her," Jasper said.

The warrior looked at her king with a conflicted expression, but moved forward to attempt to release her sister. King Jasper stood and moved behind her. He called the Dark Crystal into his hands and sent a wave of energy toward Calaveras. She screamed in pain as it plunged into her.

"Do not fight it, Calaveras," he said to her. Once the energy ceased to plow into her she fell to the ground. Her eyes were still opened, but she looked weak. Moving quickly, he released Berthier and told her, "Destroy her earrings and your own."

Berthier hesitated, before reaching out to remove her sisters earrings. As soon as they were in her hands however, the image of the Phantom appeared. "What are you doing, Berthier?"

"King Jasper... He... " Her gaze went to the king, a confused and conflicted expression on her face.

"You seem have forgotten your mission," he told her.

"King Jasper is here," she told him. "If we simply tell him about what is happening, I know that he'll listen," she told him.

The orb began to glow in the Phantom's hands and Berthier was once again assaulted with cold power. "I don't think I've been very clear with you, Berthier."

Seeing Berthier tense up, Jasper reached for the earring, pain assaulting him as he tried to remove the adornment. "Majesty!" she exclaimed, reaching to pry his hands away.

"Remove it!" he demanded.

"I was too lenient with you, Berthier," The Phantom said. "You need a dose of my full power to make you as obedient as your sisters."

"Now!" Jasper commanded.

Immediately Berthier reached to remove one earring, then she screamed before she could reach the other as the power filled her. Jasper reached to remove it himself, pain filling him as did so, but he was able to finally toss it aside.

"You will see reason soon, as well, Jasper," The Phantom said.

Jasper crushed the crystals and the image disappeared. He turned to his warrior. "Berthier!"

She turned to smile at him, one of her eyes glowing. "My king, I don't feel too well..." she said in a shaky voice. Then the glow extended to her other eye.

* * *

 

The Phantom was floating beside King Thoth's throne, peering closely into the orb that hovered between his palms. The King of Mercury had a frown on his face as he looked at the sky from the skylight. It was too far away to see the earth clearly, but Venus was in fair sight and he could make out the brighter glow among the stars that was surely the far off Earth.

"Perhaps it's time to handle things differently," Thoth said aloud to himself.

"You have something in mind?" The Phantom questioned, still staring into his orb.

"Do you still have contact with the Ayakashi sisters?" Thoth questioned.

"Yes."

"Then return them here. I want them at my side for what is to come. Instruct my forces to attack Venus and Pluto. They will make good additional forces if we can take them over and good distractions otherwise."

"As you wish," he said. The glow of eyes could be seen beneath the Phantom's cloak and the orb also began to emit energy. After a few moments the glow began to recede. "Berthier has captured the King of Nemesis."

"Then when she returns with him, you can put your plan into action."

* * *

 

"What do you remember?" Rubeus' stern voice questioned as he looked at Koan. The woman was looking down at the bed, eyes wide, hand to her head. At the sound of his voice, she turned to look at him. Startled, she said, "Rubeus? I... Is the king alright?"

This seemed to take him off guard, but all there was to show it was his eye brows furrowing. "Why ask about the king?"

"That woman," Koan said angrily. "The Queen of Neptune. She's been seducing King Jasper to lead him into war."

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked her and Koan looked to the other woman as if she'd had no idea she was in the room.

Koan looked to Rubeus first and he nodded. "Go on."

"The Phantom told us that she was planning something," Koan answered. "Berthier didn't want to believe it, but after she looked into it, she said that she saw with her own eyes Nephthys trying to seduce the other Kings."

"That must have been when he warped her mind," Serenity said to Rubeus. "He did the same to my guardian. It could have been a simple misunderstanding that he twisted."

"Or it could have been completely fabricated," Rubeus mused. "Only Berthier saw this?"

"Yes," Koan answered. "He proposed that we stop Nephthys before she could get our king involved. It was for the good of Nemesis. When we went to Neptune, though, we found her with King Horus and we put a stop to her seductions. It all seemed so reasonable at the time. Some of it... still does."

"What was the Phantom's plan?" Rubeus asked.

"He wanted us to stop those that Nephthys was trying to seduce. To stop the rebellion she was leading," Koan told him.

"Nephthys said that her actions were because The Phantom was threatening her daughter, so I doubt, if there was a rebellion, that she was leading it," Serenity said. Koan's earring began to glow and her hand reached to remove it without thinking. "Don't!" Serenity said in an imperious voice and Koan paused mid-motion. "That would be the Phantom, yes? He shouldn't see your situation."

Koan turned to Rubeus, again. "Rubeus-" she began, but he raised a hand to silence her.

"Whatever you are going to say, save it. Your mind has been warped and we can't trust that you are yourself yet."

"But Rubeus-" Koan stopped again as Petz teleported into the room. Both Serenity and Rubeus were startled, but Rubeus moved quickly into fighting position. Petz didn't seem to notice. Her eyes glowing with dark energy, she turned to her younger sister.

"We have to go, Koan," Petz said.

"Wait, Petz, Rubeus-"

But the oldest Ayakashi didn't listen. She reached out to grab Koan and then the two teleported away.

"He called them back," Rubeus concluded. "And we still have no idea where he is."

"But we know what he is planning," Serenity said. "Every story told of him involves rebellion and the envy or hate of the other planets. Whatever he's planning, the result will be war." Serenity met Rubeus' eyes. "Tell Saphir to be very careful. The Phantom is likely to hold a grudge against those who did not receive him well."

Rubeus nodded then teleported away himself.

Serenity sighed. "I never expected things to get this bad."

* * *

 

Neptune entered the guest room that she had given Mars to find the senshi of fire stretching and moving around. Neptune smiled at the younger woman, placing a tray of tea on the dresser. "Feeling better?" She asked.

"Much," Mars told her. "A day or two of rest seems to be all that I needed."

"That's good. I brought you some tea."

"Thanks, Neptune," Mars responded. She looked Neptune over. "You look like you're feeling better, too."

"Yes," Neptune responded. "If you have need of anything else, anyone in the castle will be willing to help you."

"Where are you going?" Mars asked in surprise.

"To Uranus," Neptune answered. "The woman that was here, she said something about Uranus and I have to see it for myself. If Uranus is in trouble, I'm going to save her."

"Don't go alone," Mars said fiercely. "I'll go with you."

"No. You have to stay to take of the princess," Neptune answered as she turned toward the door. "And I hope that whatever is between you and Endymion won't get in the way of that duty. He looked very concerned about you when you were injured and I hope that such attention doesn't blind you to your duty."

"I-"

"Don't explain yourself. Whatever it is, I don't have time for it," Neptune said, her voice holding holding the slightest edge. "Just know that if Uranus finds out that you've hurt our princess, she won't stand for it." With that, Neptune left the room.

Mars slammed her fist into the floor. "Why is this my fault?" she yelled to no one. "Why doesn't anyone care whether or not I'm happy? I deserve happiness, too." She whispered the last sentence as tears slipped from her eyes. "It isn't fair..."

Neptune remained outside Mar's door for a moment, listening to what she could of the woman's outburst. Neptune only shook her head sadly before moving on. _'Please be okay, Haruka,'_ Neptune thought to herself.

* * *

 

"Serenity!" Artemis said urgently as he rushed toward the queen in the hall. She stopped walking to wait upon his news. "Queen Hathor has sent us a message. They are under attack."

"Attack?" Serenity asked in surprise. "From who? The Phantom? Does he control such force?"

"She says the attack is from Mercury," Artemis replied. "They saw the attack coming just before the soldiers were able to land, but it wasn't enough time to gather the forces needed to protect herself. The transmission was cut off before we were done."

"No..." Serenity gasped. "Does Endymion know?"

"Luna went to inform him."

Serenity looked sadly away from him. "So The Phantom is on Mercury. Or else we've an even larger problem on our hands."

"What shall we do, majesty? Shall we send help?" Artemis questioned.

"We can't afford to," Serenity answered, shaking her head sadly. "The Phantom is after the Ginzuishou, he'll be here sooner or later. We can't make ourselves weaker. The senshi must recuperate so that we can be ready when he strikes. Perhaps we can plead with King Ra on her behalf. Where is Endymion?"

"I think he retreated to the comm room," Artemis answered.

Serenity nodded and went to the comm room, finding Endymion standing at the controls and Luna just behind him. "Endymion," she called to him.

"An attack has been launched against Pluto," Endymion said. "Queen Isis just informed us. She says that Saturn went to help, but she wanted to to consult us before making a move."

"What did you tell her?" Serenity asked him.

"I assume the The Phantom will return here and that these attacks are nothing but distraction. I told her that if she was to help Pluto, she should keep forces for herself in case what happens on Venus and Pluto is repeated. She opted to send forces here, instead."

"Here?" Serenity repeated.

Luna spoke to answer her. "Queen Isis says that she doesn't want you to have to worry over it. She said that she doesn't want anything to distract you when you go after King Thoth."

"She knows the attack came from Mercury?"

Endymion smiled slightly. "The Queen of Saturn shares many traits with her senshi, wouldn't you say? They both seem to have a sense about these things." He turned to face Serenity. "What will you do?"

"The senshi are not fully healed and I want to wait until we are together, that means that Mars must return, as well as the outers," Serenity answered. She looked away from him as she thought. "Mars is not likely to return without Neptune, and Neptune is not likely to return without Uranus, but I do not know what sort of situation she is in."

"Well you don't have to worry about Earth," Endymion informed her. "Especially not once Saturn's soldiers get here. Anything that comes up after that, I will handle with the Golden Crystal if need be."

She nodded. "This situation could not be much worse," she said to herself. "Once the other planets learn of the attacks, they will become suspicious and may even launch attacks of their own."

"I'll be keeping an eye out," Endymion said. "I'll try to explain the situation to King Ra. He stays friendly and knowledgeable with the other planets, his help would be the most useful."

"With Thoth's forces stretched so thin, we should have an advantage if we attack, even if we do not strike quickly," Serenity reasoned.

"Precisely why this worries me," Endymion told her. "Such moves seem unwise. It makes me wonder if this could be a trap of some sort or if he has something else up his sleeve."

"I don't doubt that he does," Serenity told him. "We have no way of knowing what he has planned, however."

"Mercury says that Venus and Jupiter should be in fighting form in a few days time," Luna offered.

"And hopefully Neptune and Mars will return by then," Serenity sighed.

"Yes," Endymion agreed and she pretended that she did not hear the longing in his voice. "Hopefully."

* * *

 

Berthier cradled Calaveras in her arms, one hand resting on her king's forehead, who lay unconscious beside her. Petz was holding Koan behind her, the younger girl looking at King Jasper with distraught eyes. And floating before them all was The Phantom. He was staring down at Jasper with glowing eyes. "Finally, I have enough power to do what I've been waiting for this whole time. The power to infest the dark crystal and control all of Nemesis." A beam of dark power shot out from the orb and into the king's body. Awakened by the pain, King Jasper screamed, the sound seeming to evoke a reaction in all the sisters. Koan cried out and scrabbled to his side, Petz turning angry eyes toward The Phantom, and Berthier's eyes just widened.

Calaveras pulled herself into a sitting position to look at The Phantom and yelled, "What are you doing to him?"

"Patience," he replied. "You'll have your answer in a moment."

"No!" Petz yelled. "Answer me, no-" She stopped mid-word. Something coursed through her body and the earrings that hung on her ears began to glow, followed by her eyes. The same effect passed over her sisters and their expressions slowly melted into apathy.

"Yes, just as I imagined," The Phantom said. "I'll have control of them all in no time."

* * *

 

Emerald stood before the healing chamber that held Prince Diamond, her hands pressed to the glass. "When will you wake, my prince?" she questioned quietly. Her earrings began to glow faintly, but she didn't notice, her attention solely focused on her prince. Slowly, almost as if in response to her inquiry, Diamond began to open his eyes. Emerald's heart leapt at the sight and she pressed herself closer to the glass. "Diamond!" she exclaimed, but he didn't seem to notice her. A glow had come over his eyes.

"Saphir!" Emerald yelled in alarm. "Saphir!"

"What is it, Emerald?" Saphir questioned, walking swiftly over to her.

"Something..." she began pointing at Diamond, but her words trailed off. Her hands flew to her head.

"Emerald?" he questioned.

"Something..." she whispered. "Diamond..."

Saphir shifted his attention to Diamond, seeing his eyes were open. "Brother?" he questioned, but he got no response. Saphir's gaze went to Emerald and he leaned toward her. "What is it, Emerald?"

"I... I don't feel... Saphir..."

"Let me look at you, Emerald." Saphir said. "Come." He began to lead her away, sparing one last glance to his brother. The glow entered his eyes once more, but faded before Diamond's eyes drifted closed. "Rubeus," Saphir called. The man appeared at his side immediately. "Keep an eye on my brother."

Rubeus nodded, watching as Saphir led Emerald away. Slowly, the glow began to come over his eyes as well.


	10. Lay Me Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We Fight!

Serenity was in her room, staring at the black crystal that rested on her desk that had once served as a link between her and Diamond. She wanted to speak to him, to see him, to know that he was alright, but she hadn't dared talk to anyone on Nemesis in the last two weeks. She didn't have any new information to share and asking repeatedly after Diamond wouldn't help him. And there was so much to do. She couldn't transform, and everyone had repeatedly tried to talk her out of her plan, but she wouldn't have it. As queen, her word was to be obeyed and they adhered to her plan.

The senshi were all healed, even Uranus, whom Neptune had rescued from being held captive on her own planet, just as the senshi of tides had been. The Ayakashi sister were still out there somewhere, being controlled by the Phantom, but she knew that it was possible to save them, now. Nephthys had wept when she had seen that Neptune was safe and, after Serenity assured her that she would keep it that way, the other queen had been made to give her word and promise not to surrender to The Phantom, should he return. She was sent back to her planet. King Horus remained missing and they all feared the worst for him.

It would all be over soon. It had to be. Serenity just kept repeating this to herself over and over again, hoping that would make it true. She had avoided all the inner senshi when they wanted to talk to her about anything personal, and only spoke to Neptune and Uranus in between them recovering and indulging in each other's presence. The only one she saw regularly was...

"Usagi." Saturn's head was peeping into her room, a large smile on her face. It startled Serenity, not only to be called that, but to see such a look on the senshi of silence. It had been so long... she couldn't help but stammer for a moment, the present forgotten as she stared at this image of her past.

"Ho-Hotaru?"

Saturn moved into her room, closing the door behind her and laughing the slightest bit. Then slowly, the image before Serenity became the one that had become familiar to her over the last few years. The older, more serious face of Saturn, but a slight amusement remained. "I am sorry that I did not knock, but I thought you needed cheering up and could think of no other way to do it."

"No, it's not a problem," Serenity said. "I was only surprised."

Saturn came over to her and sat on the bed, a bit behind where Serenity sat at her desk. "It's been hard on you, hasn't it?"

"What?"

"All the other senshi?"

Serenity sighed. "It has, but I don't know what to tell them so that they stop. I hate all the pity they give me."

"I can understand why they feel the way the do," Saturn said. "I watched you slowly lose that brightness that you had as a princess. From afar, I could see the strain that everything was causing you and I wanted to help you, but there was nothing that I could do. And I saw how hard you tried not to let anyone see that you were hurt, and I couldn't bring myself to tell you I knew anyway how you were hurting. I didn't know why. I don't know why," Saturn added. "I wouldn't let the others say anything about it. I understand how you feel, too, Serenity. It must be very lonely where you are." Serenity turned to face Saturn, catching the saddest of looks on the youngest senshi's face. Saturn looked at Serenity and smiled, banishing the look, but the shadow of the expression was still on her face. "But you know, that's why I admire you, Usagi. You try so hard and even if you aren't happy, you still tried to make the rest of us happy, to not cause us worry. You still give me hope, Usagi."

"Hotaru..." Serenity whispered. "Thank you."

Saturn stood and moved to Serenity's side, embracing her. "Thank you, Usagi."

Saturn released her and turned to go, but Serenity called out to her. "Wait, Saturn! ... Hotaru... Would you... would you stay?" Serenity looked away for a moment as Saturn faced her. "I... I haven't talked to any of the girls... but this may be my last chance, if this fight doesn't go well, so... if you don't mind..." Serenity could feel herself blushing and that made her more embarrassed than her initial request.

Saturn smiled. "Of course I will, Usagi."

Serenity met her eyes and smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

 

The Phantom was pleased. Everything was just as he needed it to be. He floated before his new subordinates, content that his hold on them would not be lightly broken. "Do you understand your mission?"

"Yes, Phantom." It was not a unanimous answer, some simply nodded or gave other forms of non-verbal agreement, but it was enough.

"Good," he said. "Then go. Your orders are clear. King Thoth will handle the rabble of Earth; do not be distracted."

Then they teleported away.

"The soldiers should be arriving on Earth any moment," he mused to himself. "Everything will be perfect soon."

* * *

 

They arrived just outside the crystal palace, the glow of their earrings barely visible in the darkness of the night. King Jasper stepped in front of the group, looking over his people sternly and seeing that they did not object to him taking up his rightful position. "Let's get their attention, first," he said. "It would be rude not to knock. Emerald."

The green haired woman was adorned with a black tiara. The jewel at its center gleamed briefly before she was engulfed in black smoke, emerging as a creature much more fearsome than she had previously been. She released a deadly amount of force upon the palace and roared with a ferocity that shook the ground beneath their feet.

"Someone should stay and wait for the greeting party," King Jasper said, but he did not stop to see who would wait. He teleported away quickly and, with a look of determination in his eyes, Diamond was quickly gone as well.

* * *

 

Endymion woke quickly at the shaking of the palace, barely sparing time to dress as he rushed to the control room to see what had attacked his home and to raise the shields. When he arrived in the room, he was met with the faces of the two princes and king of Nemesis. Saphir was busy typing away on the computer and Diamond and Jasper turned to face the king as he entered. Endymion moved into a fighting stance quickly, his staff immediately appearing in his hand as he did so.

"Greetings, Endymion," Jasper said, moving to approach. "As you were, my sons. I shall handle the king."

Endymion was forced to take his fight out of the room, if he was to have any chance of fighting the man. The two princes seemed to be occupied, but if they joined the fight and outnumbered him, he would stand little chance. In the hall, Endymion struck King Jasper as soon as the man exited the room after him, the blow filled with the force of the golden crystal. Pain clearly flashed across Jasper's face, but the other man only fixed determined eyes on Endymion and readied his own blows.

* * *

 

Serenity woke up with a start, dread immediately filling her senses as she sat up, still dressed, as she'd fallen asleep in her gown. Saturn was already up, having remained in the room at Serenity's behest, glaive in hand and looking at the door.

"They are attacking," Saturn said, not turning to face Serenity and looking at the door as if she expected it to be broken down at any moment.

"I should have expected that they would bring the fight here before we got the chance to counter," Serenity said. "I have to get to the girls, so let's go."

Serenity was barely down the hall when the senshi caught up to her, with the exception of Mars. Serenity frowned as she noticed the fire senshi's absence. Mercury spoke up before she could question it, though. "Mars has gone to search for the King. Luna and Artemis reported that he wasn't in his room and the shields haven't been raised, so she went to control room to see if he was headed there." The crisp, clipped tone that Mercury spoke in hinted that she did not entirely approve of this plan.

Serenity frowned. "She went alone?" she asked. She looked over the faces of the other senshi, some of whom looked guilty under her scrutiny. "If she runs into trouble, she shouldn't be alone," Serenity scolded. She changed paths to go toward the control room. "The rest of you need to go outside and see what's attacking the palace!" Serenity called as she ran off.

"But-" They tried to object.

"Go!" she commanded. Saturn was on her heels and this brought no protest, so the other senshi continued their path outside.

A wall of golden fire met Serenity when she reached the corridor that the control room was in, and Saturn leapt in front of her immediately, holding off the flames with her Silent Wall. Saphir rolled out from the flames, looking singed and burned in several places, but not at all defeated. He pulled himself onto his elbows, catching his breath. He caught sight of Serenity for a moment, but jumped away as several flaming arrows impacted on the spot he'd stood.

Saturn pushed the wall forward so that they could enter the corridor and they saw Mars being barraged by dark energy from King Jasper, before the king was pinned to the wall by Endymion. Serenity felt frozen in place as she watched this. Saphir grabbed Endymion from behind in a stranglehold, but Endymion unleashed more golden flames that caused the young prince to release him. King Jasper launched forward to punch Endymion square in the jaw, then delivered another blow to his stomach, this one charged with dark energy. Endymion screamed as the waves of dark power flowed through him. A wave of fire rushed toward the king of Nemesis, who just barely dodged, and Mars tried to rush to Endymion's side, only for Saphir to interfere.

"Why?" Serenity wondered. "The people of Nemesis, they aren't our enemies."

"It would seem that has changed," Saturn said. "What do you want me to do, my queen?" Saturn's expression had hardened to one of complete seriousness. It was in direct contrast to the looks she'd worn all last night, but it was the one she had grown used to from the youngest senshi. Fight or retreat, she was willing to obey Serenity's command without question. It was a trait that all the outer senshi shared, even more so than the inners, and as Neo Queen, she had gotten used commanding their loyalties thusly.

Serenity's face hardened. "Cover me," she said, before darting past Saturn and towards the fight. Serenity moved herself before Endymion, arms spread wide, as King Jasper unleashed more dark energy toward him. She glared fiercely at him as the power of the Ginzuishou released from her, counteracting the energy of the Dark Crystal. "Stop this," she said in an angry and imperious tone.

"Serenity," Endymion gasped. Using his staff as a cane, Endymion leaned down slightly and Mars was finally able to rush to his side. Saturn took up position to one side of Serenity, holding her glaive at the ready so that she could block any further incoming attacks.

Lowly, Serenity whispered, "I'm very upset with you for this stunt, Mars." Mars frowned at her as she held onto Endymion, letting the king lean on her shoulder a bit, but Serenity wasn't looking at her and continued. "Please, next time, don't go alone. I hate thinking of what would have happened to you... to either of you, if you had been here alone."

Mars' expression softened and she bowed her head, though Serenity still couldn't see. "You're right. Forgive me, my queen."

Serenity turned her full attention on the royals of Nemesis that were before her. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

"I can't speak for the others..." A voice began and Serenity felt a cold shiver of dread go down her spine, just before Diamond stepped out of the control room. His eyes locked onto hers and he continued. "But what I want, is you Neo Queen."

* * *

 

The group of senshi stopped on their way out of the palace as one of Ayakashi sister's approached. "It's dangerous out there," Berthier told them. "You should be careful."

They formed a wall, blocking her entrance and glaring at her as they moved into fighting stances. Jupiter stepped forward, grabbing the blue clad warrior's arm. "Where do you think you're going?" She demanded. Berthier turned to face Jupiter, unleashing a wave of cold and ice around her that engulfed the storm senshi. Mercury activated her visor, as the other's were forced to cover their eyes from the sudden fierce wind that accompanied the attack.

"I can't be stopped here," Berthier said. "The king may be in trouble, so I really have to go." She smiled. "You really should be careful." She teleported away.

Venus was the first to react. She gasped as she looked up, finding Jupiter standing completely frozen in ice. "Jupiter!" Hesitantly, she walked toward the frozen senshi and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"She's still alive," Mercury said, no expression on her face as she looked at Jupiter. "I can still read her vitals; if we can get her thawed out, she should be able to recover. Venus turned sadly toward Mercury, then toward Uranus and Neptune, who also had determined looks on their faces. "If we leave her here, hopefully she'll be safe from all the fighting."

"... Right..." Venus agreed. With one last sorrowful look at Jupiter, Venus took off toward the outside, the other senshi following.

* * *

 

Mercury paused as soon as she got sight of the situation outside the palace. "Unbelievable," she said in a low voice. The sentiment was shared by the others. Explosives were floating gently from the sky and into the city and a large creature was destroying a part of the palace. In an instant, Mercury had her computer in her hand, typing furiously, trying to locate a weak point.

"Finally. I didn't think that anyone would answer all our knocking," Rubeus said, calling attention to himself where he floated above the remaining three Ayakashi sisters. Calaveras extended her arm, cracking her whip as she faced down the senshi, and Petz hefted her strobe in her hand. Rubeus threw out his arms and tossed a handful of explosive orbs of energy at the senshi and the women scattered. Venus and Mercury were on one side, Neptune and Uranus were on the other. The four warriors of Nemesis split off as well; Rubeus and Calaveras going toward Venus and Mercury while Koan and Petz moved toward Uranus and Neptune.

Venus summoned forth her chain and tossed it toward the approaching Rubeus and Calaveras, and they separated from each other. "Mercury, you've got to concentrate on that... thing. I'll cover you."

"Right," Mercury replied, focusing all her attention on analyzing the dragon.

Calaveras' whip sliced through the air toward Venus and she countered it with her own, then Rubeus' energy exploded at her feet, knocking her into the air. Calaveras' whip arched toward Venus' body, catching her ankle and pulling her down so that she slammed into the ground. Venus let out a small scream of pain as her body compacted with the earth. Calaveras walked over to the senshi of Venus, whip in hand. "Down so quickly," she laughed. The orange clad weapons master swung her whip toward Venus, only be pushed away from the senshi with a wave of water.

"I've got it!" Mercury cried. "The center of the tiara on that thing's head, if you shoot that then it should lose its form. It's actually a person and that tiara is what's changing it's form."

"Got it," Venus groaned as she pulled herself up.

"You'll be toast before you even get the chance to attack," Rubeus said, a dark smirk on his lips. Mercury turned toward him and launched her Shabon spray, surrounding them in a thick cover of fog. She made her way to Venus, helping her up.

"Are you okay?" Mercury asked.

"I'll be fine," she said. "Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

 

An explosion erupted across the battlefield as the blue fire of Koan's energy clashed with the tidal wave of Neptune's power. The two women continued to face off from a distance as Uranus and Petz met weapon to weapon, Uranus' sword to Petz's strobe. A shock of black electricity erupted from the strobe and Uranus screamed as the harsh energy flooded her. Her grip weakened and Petz pushed forward, breaking through Uranus' guard and hitting her hard with the electrified weapon. "Uranus!" Neptune screamed, abruptly changing path toward her lover. She sent her attack at Petz, hitting the unsuspecting woman head on. Koan was behind Neptune a moment later, blasting her with a pillar of blue fire that pushed her to the ground.

"I'll show you!" Petz yelled, charging at Neptune before she could completely pick herself up and hitting her in the back of the head with the electrified strobe. Neptune screamed and Uranus was up and heading her way immediately at the sound.

"Neptune!" she called. Koan and Petz turned toward her and hit her with fire and electricity both, pushing her back and knocking her to the ground.

Neptune stood and jabbed her elbow into the side of Petz's face, then attacked Koan, pushing her back with a tidal wave of watery power. "This one thinks she's tough," Petz said, slamming her strobe into Neptune's face. Neptune was pushed back, but the assault did not stop. Petz slammed the strobe down on her over and over again, electricity pushing itself into her body each time and causing Neptune to scream.

Petz screamed as Uranus' attack abruptly slammed into her and Neptune weakly pulled herself up.

"Uranus," she groaned.

"Neptune!" Uranus said, running to her side. She leaned down to help Neptune up and the other senshi smiled weakly. Neptune's eyes widened as she pushed Uranus away just as Petz's strobe slammed into her chest, accompanied by more electricity as the green clad warrior poured all she had into the attack. Koan's power poured into her from the other side and Neptune let out an ear splitting shriek. Neptune gasped and fell to the ground as the electricity abrupt stopped pouring into her, landing not far from the weapon that dropped from Petz's hand. Slowly, gasping for breath, Petz looked down to see the blade of a sword peeking out of her, then it was yanked out and Petz fell to the ground.

"Neptune!" Uranus said, falling to her knees and pulling her lover into her arms.

Weakly, Neptune opened her eyes to look at her lover, lifting her hand to touch Uranus' cheek. "Y-you're... al... right... I'm glad... Ruka..." Neptune's eyes closed and her hand fell away from Uranus' face.

"Neptune!" Uranus choked out. "Nep... Michiru!" She yelled again, slightly shaking her. "Michi! Michiru!" her tears fell on Neptune's face as she held her in tightly gripping, shaking hands.

"Petz..." Koan was whispering farther away, staring at Petz's limp body and the growing pool of red around it.

Uranus gripped her sword in her hand angrily, staring at Neptune's still body, listening to her enemies sorrowful whispers. She trembled with anger and sorrow as she gently laid Neptune's prone body on the ground, then she rose, gripping her sword, and walked toward the shocked and stationary Koan.

* * *

 

The fog had begun to lift around Venus and Mercury as Uranus' scream rang out and they both felt cold dread in their hearts. Venus steeled herself as she tried to see through the fog to the beast, to the adornment on it's head, though it was still too thick for her to aim clearly from such a distance. "Cover me when the fog clears," Venus whispered.

"Okay," Mercury answered.

The fog cleared and Mercury had only a moment to unleash a wall of water to block the barrage of explosions throw by Rubeus. Venus shot a beam of energy, but the dragon was not still and the weak point on the tiara moved as the monstrous creature did. It noticed the attack and turned toward them, letting out a wave of dark fire and energy. Venus grabbed Mercury and pulled her out of the blast, but Calaveras met them as they reached safety and tossed her whip their way. Mercury pushed Venus down and the whip knocked Mercury back into the ongoing flames. Venus whipped her head around behind her. "Mercury!" She pulled herself up and glared at the beast, then she aimed and unleashed a beam of energy that soared straight into the center of the tiara on its head. The beast exploded into ashes that rained to the ground and Emerald, in the center of what was the beast, fell toward the ground, as well. Venus looked toward Mercury, lying in a deep trench and covered in burns.

"It seems that you had more fight in you than I expected," Calaveras said. "But this must be the end."

* * *

 

Serenity was pinned to the wall by Diamond, who stared into her eyes and made it very difficult for her to focus on anything happening around them. Endymion was calling out to her, but he couldn't reach her, as he was engaged against Saphir and Berthier, who had arrived only minutes before, with Mars trying to protect Endymion from most of the assaults. King Jasper was keeping Saturn occupied. Serenity could hear the fighting, but she couldn't look away from Diamond's eyes. They were cold, changed somehow, but they were still filled with emotion for her. Tainted emotion, but emotion still. Could she save him?"

"Beautiful as ever, Serenity," Diamond said in a low whisper. "Did you miss me? I was gone from you for so long."

"Diamond," she said, eyes hard. "Something is wrong with you. Your eyes-"

"Your eyes are as lovely as they have ever been," he said, interrupting her. "I could stare into them all day."

"Diamond, let me help you," she said sternly. "Let me-"

"I'm going to take you away with me, Serenity," he said. "You are going to be mine."

"No."

"We'll be together. You won't have to worry."

"No."

"I'll have you all to myself. I'll take good care of you, Serenity." He moved his face closer to hers. "You'll have to give up that crystal, but that's such a small thing."

"I can't."

His face was in the crook of her neck, nuzzling her. "You don't need this place. You don't need that thing. You'll give it up and I'll take you."

"I won't-"

He kissed her and she couldn't fight him. She couldn't push him away. It was all wrong, though. He was forceful and greedy, and the cold, she recognized the cold that was within him. The power of the Phantom was affecting him, controlling him. He pulled away and she was able to break his hold on her and push him away.

"I can't, I won't, " she said. "Diamond, listen to me." She drew upon the Ginzuishou, thrusting her arms out before her, the silver orb gleaming between her palms. "You must be healed by me!"

Diamond brought his arm up to shield his eyes and the power of the dark crystal wrapped protectively around him. Behind him Berthier called out as the silver light enwrapped her, Saphir and Jasper, similarly protected by the dark crystal, shielded their eyes as well. Slowly, Diamond lifted one of arms and unleashed the dark crystal's power upon Serenity, tossing her into the wall in her surprise.

"Diamond!" she out cried.

"Serenity, it is no good to fight," Diamond said. "I'd rather avoid hurting you if I could."

"Neo Queen," Berthier mumbled. "Please, save the king. King Jasper... this isn't his fault," she said. "The Phantom... he... My king and the princes... don't harm them."

Saturn moved to Serenity's side and pointed her glaive at Diamond. "Stay away from her!"

Diamond glared. "Do not get in my way," he demanded.

"I won't move," Saturn declared fiercely.

"Then you'll have to be moved, won't you?" he said quietly. The dark form of The Phantom rose from the prince's shadow. Trepidation filled Serenity as she watched the shadowy form face her.

* * *

 

Uranus limped slightly as she approached Venus, walking away from the still and bleeding form of Calaveras that lay on the ground. She passed Rubeus' heavily breathing body, a hole shot straight through his chest, and moved into the trench where Venus stood over Mercury. The water senshi was burned all over, but shallow breathing moved her chest haltingly up and down.

"She won't make it," Uranus whispered. "There's no way to get her help in time."

"I know," Venus whispered, barely audible.

"We have to find... the princess..."

"I know." Venus slowly lowered Mercury's hand to the ground and stood. She looked into the distance, in the center of the fallen ashes. "Can you tell if she's..."

"She isn't moving. Let's forget about her," Uranus said. The outer senshi turned to go, but waited for Venus to follow. Venus reached out to help the other woman, but Uranus didn't show any sign of noticing the help, even as Venus pulled the the other woman to lean on herself.

* * *

 

"Serenity!" Endymion called out, a barrier of golden light surrounding her as he blocked the prince of Nemesis from reaching her bodily. Saturn was fighting the Phantom, blocking blasts from the dark crystal before charging with her glaive. Saphir's energy was pitted against Mars', but the two seemed to come to a stand still. "You have to do something, Serenity," Endymion yelled.

"What can I do?" she asked him. "He... he blocked my power. And he's..."

"Serenity, you are the only one that can do it!" Endymion yelled, and he threw out his hand, launching explosive energy at the prince, but it was blocked. Endymion surrounded himself and Serenity with the protective golden fire created by the golden crystal, blocking Diamond's next attack. "You've done it every time before!" Endymion continued. "You are the only one that I believe in no matter what the circumstances."

"How can you say that?" she whispered. She clenched her fist, then said louder, "How can you say such a thing after... after everything!"

"Because it's true," he told her. The black power of the dark crystal overcame Endymion's golden flames, then Diamond appeared right before him and the black energy pierced his body in several places. He gasped, then whispered once more, "I believe... in your power... Serenity..."

"Endymion!" Serenity screamed, rushing forward to catch his body as it fell to the ground. The golden fire slowly began to dissipate, his weight pulling her down as she tried to support him. "Endymion!"

"Endymion!" Mars yelled, tears forming as she watched her king's body fall to the ground. She screamed as Saphir attacked her, catching her off guard.

"No! No no no No!" Serenity yelled. "This can't happen. This can't..." Tears began to fall from her eyes. "This can't happen!" Silver light exploded from her body, catching the attention of all in the room. When the light faded, Serenity stood before them as a senshi, adorned in white with only a single area of color, a rainbow of colors on her skirt.

"You will pay for this, Phantom," she said, then she turned to face the Phantom, lifting her staff held tightly in her hand. She rushed toward the Phantom and slammed her staff toward him, and he raised the orb that hovered between his palms to block the attack. The orb that topped her staff began to glow, then it exploded with the power of the Ginzuishou. "Phantom." She ground out, staring at him with hate filled eyes. "Disappear!"

* * *

 

It was mostly quiet in the hall when Venus and Uranus found it, the only sound being the sounds of mourning. The bodies of the royalty of Nemesis lay unmoving on the ground. Berthier was cradling King Jasper's body, stretching her other hand out toward the nearby Saphir and whispering, "This shouldn't have happened. I only wanted to protect Nemesis." She repeated that over and over between sobs. Mars was in hysterics over Endymion's body, the white colors of her uniform stained from her gripping hold on the still man. Saturn was watching Serenity... Cosmos... as she wept.

They stood there silently and watched, letting tears fill their own eyes.

Footsteps began to approach down the hall and Cosmos turned to look toward the approaching sound. Her arms were tightly wrapped around her body like she had to physically hold herself together. Pluto walked up to her, dropping to her knees and embracing her princess, holding her tightly as she cried. "Forgive me, princess, that I did nothing to stop it."

"Why?" Serenity questioned, weeping. "Why? Why did this have to happened? Why did... why they have to... why did they have to..."

"I'm sorry," Pluto said again. "But the only way anything would change, was if you figured out how to become Cosmos. I'm sorry that had to happen."

"Pluto," Saturn said softly. "Why... did you come here?"

Cosmos looked at her with streaks of tears pouring down her face, the same question in her eyes. Pluto tightened her hold on the princess as she answered. "I... I think that there must be another way," Pluto said slowly. "Something... this... it shouldn't have happened. I don't want this... to be our future. I know that there must be a way for you to have a happy future, Serenity, and I want that. I want chaos to be destroyed."

"Chaos...?" Serenity repeated in confusion. "But..."

**"You can't destroy me."**

They all tensed at the sound of the voice. Uranus and Saturn holding their weapons ready, Venus moving nervously closer to Cosmos, Mars and Berthier both clutching their respective kings more tightly. From the shadows of the room, a form began to gather, the strange orb of the Phantom's rising above the blackening pool of darkness.

 **"Nothing can destroy me,"** It continued. **"I am Eternal. I am Unending. And I will have the Ginzuishou!"**

All at once, the pool of darkness leapt at Cosmos, but Venus was already in place to block it. She fired a crescent beam, but the darkness completely avoided it, striking her down without having it's path altered and Saturn quickly put up a barrier to hold it off. Saturn looked at Pluto, straining under her own power. "He's too strong," she said. "I can't keep this up for long."

Pluto nodded and helped Cosmos to her feet, then she looked seriously at her princess. "Do you want to change this?" she asked her. "To do this all over? Are you willing to relive what's happened if the outcome can be altered?"

"Yes," Cosmos answered her. "Please."

Pluto nodded once, then took her princess' hand and began pulling her down the hall. They heard Saturn's scream just as they reached the end of the hall.

"Look out! Neo Queen!" Berthier yelled. Cosmos looked back just in time to see the blue clad warrior throw herself into the path of The Phantom's... of Chaos' power, holding it off momentarily. "I never wanted things to turn out like this," she said. "Please, Neo Queen Serenity. You have to believe me. I just wanted my sisters and my king and my people to be happy."

"I know," Cosmos replied.

"Get her out of here, Pluto!" Mars yelled, standing. Uranus helped Venus to her feet and they all shared a serious expression. Pluto continued to pull her princess forward, even as she tried to twist around to watch the fates of her friends and protectors. An explosion of power erupted behind them and Cosmos turned away, putting all her strength into keeping up with Pluto.

Pluto did not allow them to slow down until they reached the gates of time, the mist surrounding them quickly, but not obscuring their goal. "You are going to wake up in your own body, Usagi, well enough in the past that all this can be changed. Please, you must not believe that this is a dream. You must remember that all of this happened. If you forget, or if do not believe that these events were real, you may not think to change anything and all this effort will go to waste."

"When will I wake up?" she asked.

"After you are queen and after Crystal Tokyo. You will be able to change what needs to be changed, but some things must still happen, if we want to be able to properly counter what takes place today. I won't be able help you," Pluto told her.

"Why not?"

"Because the Pluto that will be helping you, won't be me, princess," Pluto said to her with a sad smile. She lifted her garnet rod and the door slowly opened. "Your path is prepared. Just keep walking forward."

"Pluto!" Cosmos called out.

"Go!" Pluto told her. "Don't worry about me, princess." Then the senshi of time turned on her heel and launched an attack into the darkness and Cosmos ran through the door of time.

 _'If this can be fixed,'_ she thought, _'then I will fix it. I won't let this happen. I won't let my world fall apart because I'm too weak to fix it. I won't let this happen again. I swear it.'_


	11. Drown My Will

Something felt odd when Serenity woke and she sat up in bed. She felt... cold for some reason and a shiver went through her body. Warmth wrapped around her as Endymion pulled her closer, yawning as he questioned, "What's wrong, Serenity?"

"I... I don't know..." she answered. "Something feels... off."

"A bad dream?" he suggested.

"Maybe... I'm not sure," Serenity continued.

"Maybe you're just worried about your visit to the other planets?" he offered. "This will be your first visit as a Queen instead of as a warrior."

"Hmm... Maybe you're right," she allowed.

"Return to sleep," he told her. Serenity nodded and lay back down obligingly. She did have a lot on her mind. It was probably only worry that made her feel so agitated.

* * *

 

Bad dreams. She felt as if she'd been having bad dreams. Some worry, some trouble, some thing was pulling on her mind that she couldn't fathom. Could it really just be worry? She was going to have her first visit to all the planets, even Nemesis, a planet she knew almost nothing about, that had established itself without her aid. Did she worry over it, more than the other planets?

She tried to shake the feeling off as she enjoyed the celebratory send off that all of Crystal Tokyo was involved in. Venus jumped with joy about how much fun Serenity was to have, now that she'd be visiting as a queen instead of a warrior, and practically begged to go along, only to be scolded by Luna, who insisted that Serenity needed to go alone as to not make the other planets worry. Mercury reminded her about customs that the other planets had taken up, causing Serenity to surprise her by already having the information memorized, though she wasn't sure how. Jupiter and Mars wished her well and told her to be on her guard and otherwise worried and advised her and she couldn't help but laugh a little at their display of concern.

Endymion accompanied her to various points in Crystal Tokyo to give assurances and farewells to the people, dancing with her at the ball held in the palace, and giving her his own private goodbyes and well wishes.

And as she set off, Serenity decided to firmly put the worried feeling out of her mind. Everything was perfect. More perfect than she ever could have hoped that it would be. The princess had gotten her prince, had become a queen, married her king. Her kingdom was beautiful and flourishing, her people were happy, her friends and protectors were actually having a chance to relax, now that the solar system was reliably stable. Nothing could be more perfect.

She had woken from an uncertain nightmare to the most beautiful of dreams.

Yes, a nightmare. Whatever the feeling was, whatever was nagging at her mind, it had to only have been a nightmare, because she was living out her dreams.

"Tomorrow," Serenity said as she laid down on her bed beside Endymion. "I'll be leaving so early, will you be seeing me off?"

"Would you like me to?" he asked her.

"Would you?" she asked him. "The sun won't even have risen by that time."

"If it would make you happy," he told her.

Serenity moved closer to him, cuddling up under his arms. "I won't make you go out of your way," she told him. "You'll have a lot of work to do here, with me gone, right?"

"I'll handle it. Don't worry."

Taking him at his word, she did not worry.

* * *

 

Her visits consisted of a week at minimum, a month at max, on each planet. King Thoth of Mercury treated her with formal distance that bordered on dismissal. King Ra of Mars was engaging and friendly and slyly inquisitive enough to make her more regal sensibilities worried. Queen Hathor of Venus was just as friendly and hyper as Minako herself, even still having a regal air about her, and they got along splendidly. King Set of Jupiter was a serious man, not very friendly or sociable, and talked informatively about his planet and people whenever she could encourage him to speak to her at all. Queen Nephthys of Neptune had a quite, melancholy demeanor, and King Horus of Uranus was so disinterested in socializing with her, he invited the neighboring queen to his planet to avoid having to personally play host. Queen Isis of Saturn was caring and charming, and Serenity got along with her as well as she had with Queen Hathor. King Osiris of Pluto was somber with an unexpected humor that made his company very enjoyable. King Jasper of Nemesis was enjoyable enough, but the prince of Nemesis, Diamond, was more often in her company.

Serenity couldn't have been more thrilled, couldn't have had more fun, visiting all of the planets unless Endymion and the senshi had been with her, which made her especially eager to return home. In her haste, she was able to get home just slightly earlier than expected, excited at the idea of surprising Endymion and hopefully having a little time alone with him without having anything interrupt them, since her arrival wasn't to be announced until the following day.

"I hope he'll be surprised," she said to herself as she wandered off to find him.

* * *

 

It was a bad dream.

It was a bad dream!

It had to be some kind of nightmare. It had to be some terrible delusion. It had to be some malicious magic giving her these terrible images, playing this terrible trick on her mind. It just Could Not Be Real! She had a terrible sense of deja vu that left her with dread in the pit of her stomach.

She wandered into her bedroom -into their bedroom, hers and Endymion's - feeling panic more than she did sadness, because such a terrible and miserable feeling was overcoming her that she needed desperately to believe that not now, not again, was her perfect world falling apart. They were only nightmares she'd had, right? Only some sort of false memories of a false world, not something that really happened. It couldn't be something that had really happened. The sight of uncovered flesh and the invasive sounds of passion grated against her mind as she tried to recall the weeks, the months, that she had spent in happy bliss with a perfect world.

"What is this!" she yelled into the room and two bodies on her bed, the person that was supposed to be her friend and one that was supposed to be her husband, briefly froze before abruptly breaking apart. Mars clutched the sheets to her body to cover herself and Endymion grew very still as he looked at her, an unrepentant calm coming over his face. "Answer me!" she yelled in desperation.

Mars looked from Endymion to Serenity, not knowing whether she should answer or if she should allow Endymion to speak. The King rose from the bed, approaching Serenity slowly. "Serenity, listen to me," he began and she took a step back from him. He stopped, still looking at her with a distant and calm expression. "Calm down, Serenity. It would not do to worry our people because there is a misunderstanding between us."

"A mis... Am I misunderstanding something about finding you and... and... " Her eyes fell upon Mars, who clutched the sheets closer to her and flinched away from Serenity's gaze. "And that woman naked in my bed!"

"You are misunderstanding what this means," Endymion told her calmly. "You are my queen and I am you king, nothing must change if you do not chose it to."

Serenity stared at him. _'A nightmare, only a nightmare. An illusion, just an illusion. A trick, some terrible trick.'_ The words repeated in her mind and she tried to hold on to them, to her perfect world, to discard the black feeling in the pit of her stomach that had been brought on by the sense of deja vu. "Nothing... How can nothing change?" she asked him. "Why do you think that nothing can change?"

Endymion walked toward her again, very slowly. "We have a job to do, Serenity," he told her. "Neither of us should have to do it alone and our conflicts should not burden our people. For their sake, Serenity, for them."

"No," she shook her head.

"For the people, Serenity, nothing should change."

Serenity couldn't stand it any longer. She fled from the room. If she just woke up, this reality would surely disappear. If she could only make herself wake up... She woke up once from her nightmare, didn't she? Didn't she? Why would she have such a dream? Why would this... happen? Why would this happen to her again? Endymion had loved her before she'd left, hadn't he? Had wanted her to be happy, right?

_'You are the only one that I believe in...'_

Didn't Endymion say that to her? Didn't she remember him saying those words?

Why would this happen? Why would he kiss her, hold her, if he didn't also love her? Why would he marry her? Why would he agree that they should become husband and wife? Why would he... why would he... WHY WOULD HE!

It was broken.

Everything was broken. She was broken. And as much as she thought and wondered, she could not understand why her perfect world was falling to pieces. Why her happiness was slipping through her fingers. Why her friend and husband had betrayed her.

She didn't have to deal with it as quickly as she feared. Before long, Endymion had left on his own trip to visit the other planets and she got to think without him being near to increase her despair or her confusion. She refused to sleep in the bedroom that they shared, that he had... tainted, and had another room converted for the purpose under a false premise. She couldn't deal with people. She didn't want them to know.

_For the people._

Would it really be best for them, if she continued as she had? Would it be best for them, if she pretended nothing was wrong? If she pretended that her world was not broken? If she just... pretended?

* * *

 

Action is the antidote to worry.

It was with this in mind that Serenity decided to become very busy. She became very involved in all the workings of her kingdom, those that needed her and those that did not demand her attention. She visited her people more often than she would have done normally, trying to use up any free time she might have had. Most specially, she did not want to think of the strange feelings of deja vu that plagued her or the strange dreams -or perhaps memories- that were just waiting beneath the surface of her mind.

Endymion returned home and aside from having to greet him publicly, she avoided him entirely. It was only lightly commented upon. She had become so busy that no one was surprised not to see them together more often than was necessary and it was simply assumed that they spent time together when Serenity was not in public eyes. Little did they know, Serenity did not give herself free time, anymore.

Sleep was her free time, something that she did not cut out purely because she needed to appear rested to her people.

Mercury was happy for her, thinking that she had just gotten more responsible and really gotten the hang of being queen; Venus gave her sparingly odd looks; Jupiter told her that she ought to relax sometimes; Mars... Mars acted cordially whenever they were together, played the part of the soldier and body guard flawlessly whenever it was called for, and generally hurt Serenity's feelings by her mere presence and coldness.

Serenity continued this pattern of closed off, overworking despair until the time arrived, once more, for her to visit the planets.

* * *

 

Serenity sighed deeply as she stared at the black crystal that sat upon her desk, a trinket that Prince Diamond had given her so that she could speak to him easily and privately. Staring at the trinket that lay on her desk, she could remember her dream more clearly. Too clearly. But why? Why was she being plagued by such nightmares? Such realities?

Finally, after sitting in her melancholy for a while, Serenity did what she should have done since the dreams began and went to consult someone.

It was as quiet as always when Serenity arrived at the gates that Pluto guarded. The solitary senshi nodded at Serenity when she saw her approach. "Greetings, my queen."

"Setsuna, I need to speak with you..." Serenity began.

Pluto gazed at Serenity sadly. "I am sorry to say, your majesty, but I am not the _'Pluto'_ with whom you wish to speak."

"What?" Serenity replied in confusion.

"I am sorry your majesty, but the Pluto that you have known, is no more."

"I... I don't understand," Serenity said.

"You are not in the same reality that you once were in, majesty. You have been sent into your past and before that journey was complete, Setsuna was attacked by an incarnation of Chaos known as the Phantom," Pluto explained. "This place, this gateway into time, exists in all places at once. That is why after having died there, I was reborn and placed at the gates anew, but I am not the same person that you have known."

"So... who are you, then?" she questioned shakily.

"My name is Atropos," the senshi replied. "I am sorry if I cannot provide the help that you sought," she said.

"No," Serenity said, shaking her head slowly. "Don't be. You have helped me more than I thought that I would be helped," she said quietly. "I... I must be going..."

Pluto did not reply as she watched Serenity leave. It was not until the queen was out of her sight that Pluto spoke, in a soft whisper. "Please be strong, majesty," she said to herself.

* * *

 

Serenity was feeling more overwhelmed than she previously had. If that was possible. Her nightmare was real. Had been real. A reality that she had lived through, that she had tried to thoroughly deny, tried to desperately escape, but now was somehow more real for being the one that she was in. And Pluto... Sestuna, who had been her friend and companion, even if they did not spend as much time together as she did with the other senshi, was gone. The Pluto that she had talked with and fought with, that had given her advice and opportunity, that she had gotten close to and spent years with, was gone. Dead. And she could never be retrieved. Because the senshi of time had a duty to guard the gates of time and was replaced at her post, even after having died.

Did this Pluto ever spend time with her? Ever fight at her side and talk with her, ever laugh and share smiles with her? Did this Pluto have memories of some other Serenity of whom she had taken the place of by turning up in her old self's body? And were the memories that Serenity had of Pluto... of this Pluto? or the one that had been her companion and friend previously? Was she mixing her memories of that other time with her current one and how would she know? How could she know? She knew exactly where she was in her time, had the memories of living to this point, along with a dream like recollection of events that had yet to happen, but what was truly real?

It was heavier on her heart than she thought she could bear. Pluto, her friend and companion and advisor and loyal warrior, had stopped existing. And she may have been the only one in the kingdom, on the entire earth, in the entire timeline, to remember her.

Serenity returned to her room, to her study that she treated as her room, and wept. For Pluto and for everything else that she was losing or had lost. For the friends that she recalled suffering so that she could come here, for the lover that she had never gotten to tell of her love, for the reality that was no longer. These people that didn't have the same memories as her own... were they the same? Or had they, like Pluto, been replaced by copies of themselves that wore the same names?

What should she do?

Pluto's voice rang out in her memories. _'The Pluto that will be helping you, won't be me.'_ She hadn't understood what that meant. Faced with the reality of it, though, she didn't know if she could go on the same way and she didn't know how she could correct the mistakes that she had made that had placed her where she was now.


	12. In The Darkness

Serenity had snuck away from Crystal Tokyo.

Actually, she had snuck away from Earth entirely. She had told everyone not to disturb her for the day so that her absence would not be quickly noticed, then she had left. She had spent a long time thinking, and mourning, and brooding, and puzzling over what she should do.

For a time, she had hold up in her memorial room, where she added a picture of Pluto -though she was conflicted about adding it, since it wouldn't be exactly of the Pluto she was trying to add - and she did the majority of her mourning there. She felt miserable, having so many feelings piling onto her at once. She was able to pull herself together slightly by thinking of the words Pluto had offered her after the last time she had visited her memorial. Pluto had told her that following her heart was one of her best qualities and she decided to hold onto the advice that she had been given.

Her heart lead her to the moon.

It had been so long since she had been amid the ruins of her fallen kingdom. Even though she had traveled the solar system twice over at least, it hadn't occurred to her to return until now. She had an ache in her heart. An ache that she had no way to feel. But she felt the pain of loss. The loss of her love, the loss of her perfect world, the loss of a friend, and the still stinging loss of the family she had been born into on Earth. This place was also of broken dreams and lost paradise. This place was also one where she had been happy before something had stolen it all away. And this place was less stifling than the palace on Earth, where she was watched and worried over near constantly.

"Why did this happen?" She asked wondered aloud to no one.

"My beloved daughter, I wish that I wasn't seeing you so sorrow filled, but I am glad to see you."

Looking up, she saw the spirit of her mother standing before her, smiling with warm benevolence. Serenity's eyes watered slightly as she looked at her mother. "Mother?"

"It's good to see you, my beautiful daughter," Queen Selenity said. "Let me tell you something, Serenity. When my kingdom was flourishing, I made certain that there was a way it could be restored. After the tragedies that befell you, my daughter, I did not have the will to raise my kingdom." The Queen smiled with a sorrowful heir. "You are like me in many ways, Serenity, but you are also stronger than I was. You have two homes, the Earth and the Moon."

Serenity turned to look at the ruins of the moon kingdom. "You think that I could restore our home?"

"I know that you can, my daughter. If only you have the will, this could be your home once more." Serenity's form moved closer to one of the ruins. "I don't know what you have been through, Serenity, but I believe with all my heart that you will be able to move past what ever troubles have settled in your heart."

"Thank you, mother," Serenity answered.

Queen Selenity smiled. "Be strong, Serenity." Then the image of her mother faded and Serenity let herself fall to her knees among the ruins.

* * *

 

She inquired to Mercury, first, as soon as she returned.

"The reconstruction of the moon kingdom?" Mercury replied in question. "I don't know if that's possible," she said to Serenity. "If it could be done, the Ginzuishou would be the only tool that I can think of that would work. Perhaps you should ask Luna or Artemis."

Serenity nodded. "You're right."

"Why were you thinking about it?" Mercury questioned.

"Call it a curiosity," Serenity answered.

Serenity was compelled to ask Artemis rather than Luna. Perhaps it was because of the hazy memories that she had, but she felt weary asking the feline what could be a telling question. Artemis was pleased to answer her question.

"Queen Serenity would have been able to restore her kingdom with the ginzuishou, but it would take a lot of power," Artemis explained. "The moon kingdom was intrinsically tied to the power of the ginzuishou and everything there was designed to responded to that power. What makes you ask?"

"A curiosity that I've been having," Serenity answered.

Artemis looked at her a little longer, waiting for her to offer more, but she did not. Had it been Luna she spoke to, the feline woman would have been suspicious and asked many more questions. Serenity did not know what she planned to do, exactly, to have answered such questions anyway.

* * *

 

Slowly, so that no one would notice, she began to spend more time on the moon. Staring at and studying the ruins, enjoying the solitude, and talking to Diamond. The emptiness of the moon was better than the oppressive presence of her once friend and cold husband. She sat on the cold, lifeless surface, leaning against the fallen pillars.

"It's becoming rather stressful to be within the palace," Serenity told him. "They aren't obviously together, but whenever the two of them are out of my sight, I wonder what they are doing. If they are together. And since being in their presence pains me so, they are so often out of my sight."

"I can see why it would be painful to you," Diamond told her. "My advice to you is either to go nowhere at all or to make yourself a home elsewhere."

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"If you truly do not want to be around them, you do not have to be. You could leave them. That carries the repercussions of leaving other things as well. You could also refuse to leave and force them to confront you."

"Confronting them... I'm not sure I'd gain anything from it."

"You could gain knowledge of their reasons..." he suggested.

"I'm not certain that I want them," she replied. Serenity sighed. "Have you received the supplied that I sent, yet?"

"Yes. Nemesis is very grateful for all your aid, Serenity," he replied.

"If you could... I'd like a favor Diamond," Serenity began. "Queen Isis of Saturn, I find her very kind and I think she would not be one to treat you or your planet with hostility. I know that Nemesis does not have a good standing among the other planets, but I think if you reached out, it could help you in that regard."

Diamond was silent for a moment. "From anyone but you, Serenity, I would scorn such advice."

"I do not mean to impede on your pride, Diamond," Serenity answered.

"I know," he said in turn.

"I hope that you do not think this question intrusive, but how is it that Nemesis came to be?" She questioned. "You are the only planet that I did not aid in reconstructing. It is curious."

"Our planet's source of life is the Dark Crystal, used in much the same way as your ginzuishou. My father's adviser helped him with his own power, also."

Serenity gave a hard beat as memories of the Phantom came to mind. Fear crept down her spine, but she tried not to show it. She had yet to figure out a way to approach the problem that the Phantom would present. One could not go unprompted to foreign planets and attack their people, especially when that person had a high position among their people. A war would be not better than what the Phantom planned.

"The people of Nemesis are amazing," Serenity whispered quietly. "So enduring..."

"So are you," He told her.

She smiled slightly. "You are kind to say so," she whispered. "Thank you for your advice."

"You are far kinder than I, Serenity," he told her.

Silence reigned for a moment, then she asked quietly, "Did you help at all, with the raising of Nemesis?"

"Saphir and I both," he answered.

"Perhaps... you would be willing to help me with something..." She began hesitantly. "I... I want to restore the ruins of my mother's kingdom."

Diamond was silent a moment in turn. "If it is your desire, Serenity, then I will help you. I must wonder, however, if this means..."

"I do not yet know what it means," Serenity said. "And I don't know what I will do, only that i have this desire."

"You have my support," he told her. "Just as you have given support to me."

* * *

 

"Usagi," Venus called to her one day, looking stern. "You don't look very happy today, tell me what's wrong."

"...Don't... call me Usagi anymore, Minako," Serenity said hesitantly. "I... I don't want you to think of me that way, now. I don't want to be Usagi."

"What do you mean?" She asked. "Who do you want to be?"

"Myself," she answered. "But I'm not the same person that I once was, so I don't want to be called what used to be."

Venus was frowning at her, expression between confusion and sadness, but Serenity didn't know how to make her understood what she meant without saying more than she wished to. "Okay..." Venus answered. "Serenity."

She moved forward to hug her tightly. "Thank you, Minako," She said and she felt the tension leaving from her senshi's body. Then Serenity held her a little tighter and asked, "May I ask you something?"

Venus's arms went around Serenity in return. "What is it?"

Serenity paused as she tried to gather her words. Her mind was on Endymion and she hesitated to speak at first. "Do you think I... Do you think that my younger self, when I was still a senshi, was... needy?"

The question seemed to call the tension back into Venus' body. He voice was slightly shaky when she questioned in turn, "Why do you ask?"

"I just... need to know."

Venus pulled back to look at Serenity, her face filled with determination of a sort or maybe she was upset, Serenity couldn't quite tell. "We were all a little needy in the beginning," she said. "And there is nothing wrong with relying on your friends! We were suppose to support each other, that's what you do when you are close to someone. And you were always there for us. All of us. I don't think that you've done anything wrong, Serenity," Venus told her. "And I wouldn't call you needy."

Serenity stared at Venus for a long time before a soft smile touched her lips and she said, "Thank you."

"We should all be thanking you, Serenity," Venus said. "You gave us the strength to move forward... and... I just hope that one day... we can give you strength, too."

The words coupled with the look in Venus' eyes brought her to realization that Venus knew. Or, if not knew, she at least suspected and that... put Serenity to shame, just a little. But it also, comforted her that Venus would still such things to her, still feel that way about her, even knowing that she had been inadequate for Endymion. And perhaps also, for Mars.

"Thank you," Serenity said once more. "I think that I would like to be alone for a time," she said, then she headed toward her crystal gardens to think again.


	13. Break Free

Neo Queen Serenity loved the Earth. She loved it's people, she loved Crystal Tokyo, and she loved the feeling she got from protecting the people. Despite that, she was losing her place. The palace had become claustrophobic to her, where she dreaded the sight of her former friend and husband, yet agonized over their absences, and it was increasingly clear that her heart was not in it. The people were important to her, but her time and energy was often spent elsewhere. The Solar system, The Phantom, Prince Diamond, these things were plaguing her thoughts, leaving little time for anything more. It broke her heart, but she knew what she needed to do if she wanted to be happy. She needed a home. She needed to find her own place and she needed it to be away from Endymion and Mars.

Thus, she began the process of reviving the place that had once been her home and birthright. She began to resurrect the Moon Kingdom. It wasn't very difficult, actually. She had reformed the other planets, she knew what changes to make and, though she had not been able to transform into Cosmos once more, the crystal responded to her as well as ever. What could not be done via her crystal, she collaborated with Saphir and Diamond to plan.

Neither her plans nor her absence on Earth would be unnoticed for long. Serenity had no desire to keep her actions a secret. She was not certain of her entire plan, but she would not be like Mars. She would not be like Endymion. She would not move in secret or betray the trust they seemed to still give to her. After a debate with herself, she decided her first loyalty, now that Endymion had already betrayed her, was to her senshi. They were her friends after all and she would be honest with them. It had been too long she had done so.

She called them together, making certain that Luna and Artemis would be there to hear what she had to say as well. Nervousness coursed through her as she started their gathering like any other. There was chatter over tea and cake, a friendly atmosphere, but she felt mostly left out of it.

Finally, Venus turned to her. "Serenity, you've been quiet this whole time."

"Why did you call this meeting, Serenity?" Luna asked.

Taking a deep breath and trying to keep her face expressionless, she began. "I have been thinking about this for a time now, and I've come to a decision that I thought you should all be aware of." She looked at them all, trying not to linger of Mars, lest her heart clinch in sorrow. "I've decided that I want to revive the Moon Kingdom."

There was the expected gasp of surprise from all and Mercury was the first to speak. "Are you sure about this?" She asked with seriousness. "Reviving a planet is no small task and it would be a major drain on your energy reserves. Are you sure should risk it? You still are unable to transform and using up a large store of energy like that could be highly detrimental."

"I am a sure," Serenity said. "I am absolutely certain that this is the action that I want to take. This place... it isn't for me any longer."

"You can't mean that," Jupiter objected.

"What will the Earth do without you?" Artemis questioned.

"I can't believe you would make sure an irresponsible decision," Luna scolded. "You have a duty to the people of Earth, Serenity. You are their Queen. You are their protector. Their lives are in your hands and you just-"

"I'm not going to remain queen," She said quietly.

"What?" Luna questioned.

Serenity raised her voice in reply. "I am not going to remain Queen of Crystal Tokyo."

They all stared at her in shock, but Luna didn't let up. "What are you going to do about the People of Earth, then? They rely on you. On the senshi!"

"I don't know," Serenity admitted. "All I know is that I don't want to remain queen here and I don't want to remain on Earth. I don't want to abandon anyone, but I don't know what I will do about them."

"Selfish," Mars whispered. Then she began to speak louder. "You are always so selfish, Usagi! We gave up our lives to protect the Earth! To protect you! And you just want to throw it away! You want to just-"

Serenity slammed her hands down on the table. "Do not speak to me that way, Mars!" She yelled, surprising everyone with this display of anger. "You do not get to dictate what I do or don't do! I did not force any of you to be senshi! I did not force any of you into these roles. When I established Crystal Tokyo, I gave you all a choice. Now I'm making my own.

"For once, there seems to be peace in this solar system," She said, expression softening. "This may be the only time that change may come. And maybe the people of Earth would be better off this way. Every enemy we have faced has been drawn here because of power, because of greed, and because of me!" Her voice lowered as she went on. "I am the reason that the Earth in is constant danger. The Ginzuishou draws darkness as well as it spreads light. If I am not here, the people of Earth may be better of. If such a draw is away with me. And they do not need me as a queen, when they have a king such as Endymion. My presence is truly unnecessary."

"Serenity," Venus said softly, then she reached to place a supportive hand atop Serenity's and gave her an encouraging smile. Before she could say anything more, however, Jupiter spoke.

"You don't mean that, Serenity," Jupiter said. "You can't think that. We all need you. Endymion needs you. And the people of Crystal Tokyo love you!"

Serenity was quiet for a moment, letting her eyes fall to the table before her. She debated herself for a quick moment, then lifted her eyes. "I am going to leave Endymion."

"What?" They all echoed. "But-" "Why-"

She looked to Mars, staring directly into the fire senshi's eyes as she answered. "We've... grown apart," She said. "I'd rather not say more than that about it."

"It's okay, Serenity," Venus said. "I understand." And looking at her best friend and senshi, Serenity believed that she did.

"Thank you," Serenity answered softly.

"I'll protect you no matter where you go," Venus promised.

Serenity smiled and looked to the others. "I gave you a choice when I first became queen. I'm giving you another choice, now. You don't have to follow me. You don't have to be senshi, if you don't want to. I wont force any of you to do anything."

"You've already begun, haven't you?" Artemis questioned. "That's why you've been asking all those questions about the Moon Kingdom."

Serenity nodded. "I haven't spoken with Endymion, yet. I plan to do that next."

"You decided this all on your own?" Mars yelled. "Did you even consider his feelings?"

"Don't you talk to me about consideration!" Serenity yelled. "Did you consider my feelings? Did Endymion? Or were you only thinking about yourselves! At least I have the decency to say what I intend to do to your faces."

"Wait," Jupiter said, looking between her queen and her friend. "What's going on here?"

Mercury looked at Mars with narrowed eyes. "Is something going on, Mars?" Mars flushed red under Mercury's scrutiny, but didn't respond. "Well?" Mercury prodded. "I've noticed that there has been distance and dissent between the two of you for a while now and if this is what it has lead to, I don't think it's something to be ignored any longer."

"Why are you looking at me?" Mars replied loudly.

Venus was looking at her in the same disapproving manner, but her eyes held a look of knowing. Jupiter stood up, looking at them all. "Something is going on here and I want to know what is it!"

Serenity looked away. Mars stubbornly remained silent. Venus looked beseechingly at Serenity, but the other woman refused to meet her gaze. Finally, Venus looked back to the others with an angry look and said, "Endymion and Mars are having an affair!"

"What?" The others cried. Serenity looked up in surprise. Mars' mouth hung open. Jupiter's head turned as she rapidly looked around at everyone present. Finally her eyes landed on Mars. "Tell me she's wrong," Jupiter demanded angrily.

Mars looked away, but Venus spoke again. "It's been going on for a while now. I felt the changes between Endymion and Serenity, the attraction between Mars and Endymion. I didn't know what it meant, so I began to watch her and I... I discovered the truth."

Mars kept her eyes low for a moment, but then she steeled herself. She raised her head and looked at them all defiantly. "It's true that Endymion and I are together," She said. "We are happy together and I won't apologize for it."

"You..." Jupiter growled.

"You call her selfish," Mercury said coldly. "Yet you trifle with a married man and feel no shame? How do you explain that to yourself?"

"He wasn't happy with her!" Mars yelled in defense. "What was I suppose to do! Just let him suffer? I just wanted to help him. I just wanted..."

"It wasn't your place to do anything!" Serenity yelled, slamming her hands on the table and standing, angry tears in her eyes as she looked at Mars. "It was my place! My place to help him, my place to console him, and you took that from me! You stole my place in his heart. You stole my place with him. He shouldn't have been talking to you if there was a probem between us, he should have talked to me. He was my husband. And you... you were suppose to be my friend! And I... I can't forgive you, Rei. I just can't." Tears were flowing down Serenity face now, but she continued. "But you know what, Rei, you can have him. I'm not going to fight you over this. But I'm not going to stay here and watch you, either. I can't trust you anymore, Rei, and I can't trust him either, and I don't want to stay where I'm not wanted or needed."

Jupiter stood and lifted Mars by the front of her shirt. "How could you!" Jupiter asked. "Serenity's not just your friend! She's your princess! Your queen! And you-"

"You don't understand!" Mars cried.

"No, you don't understand," Mercury said. "You may have gotten what you wanted, Rei, but you lost the trust of your friends in the process." She looked directly into the fire senshi eyes. "Was it worth it?"

Mars flushed again, refusing to meet her fellow senshi's eyes. Luna gave the girl a disapproving look, but turned back to Serenity. "I don't approve of you abandoning the people of Earth," Luna said.

"I do not mean to be rude, Luna, but I was not asking for approval. I have already decided to do this. I won't abandon anyone that needs me, but Earth doesn't need me. It has a competent ruler in Endymion and if it needs a warrior too, I'm sure that Mars is strong enough to do the job. I will protect the Earth from the Moon if need be, but I can't stay here."

"I'd be happy to serve you, Serenity," Artemis said. She turned to face him as he continued. "I have waited for the day when you would take up your birthright and truly be the heir your mother always thought you could be. I though that would you do that on Earth, but if you were to revive her kingdom on the moon, I think she would be even more proud of you."

Serenity smiled. "Thank you so much for that, Artemis." She turned to the others. "As I said, I don't know exactly what I will do. You can come with me or stay on Earth, be senshi or not, you can even return to your own planets if you want! Whatever you decide to do, however, don't let me be a factor. Do what you would prefer to do." Serenity stood to leave the room. "I'm going to speak to Endymion, now."

Artemis walked toward her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm very proud of you, Serenity."

She smiled at him, then left the room. 

Luna went to Artemis' side. "Artemis, how can you approve of this plan?" She asked him. "She has a responsibility to the people of Earth."

"She also has a responsibility to herself, Luna," Artemis said in a quiet voice that only she could hear. "She's handling this situation very well. She was betrayed by a friend, by a lover, and she's gracefully removing herself from the situation instead of causing a fuss, like she may have done when she was younger. She's come a long way, Luna."

"I'm not saying that that isn't true," Luna replied. "But should we really encourage her to leave her responsibilities because of hurt feelings?"

"I don't think that's what she's doing at all," Venus added, coming up to them. "She's been hurting like this for a long time and she kept going because of her responsibility. But she's right. Earth doesn't need her. Earth doesn't need us. Serenity does. She's saved them and now they can stand on their own, just like the other planets. Endymion was meant to have this planet, not us."

Jupiter was still staring at Mars angrily. She pushed the other woman away with a glare. "I don't know how you can call yourself a friend or a senshi after what you've done. Serenity is too kind for you. If it were me," she clenched her fist. "You wouldn't have gotten off so easy."

Mercury looked at Mars without saying anything until the fire senshi finally got up and left the room. Once she was gone, Mercury stood. "I've got some work to do." She said, dismissing herself. Venus wondered what her friends would do as she watched them leave. _'I know what I'll do,'_  she thought and there was really nothing more to do until then.

* * *

 

Serenity found Endymion in what was once their shared bedroom, but she had long ago abandoned the cohabitation. He was lounging in a chair when she entered and she closed the door behind her. He smiled at her, that fake smile that hurt her heart, filled with distance and dishonesty. "Serenity," he greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to inform you of something," she said. "I am done. I no longer wish to be queen and rule beside you."

"Serenity-" He interrupted, but she held up a silencing hand.

"I'm not going to stay here any longer when I am not needed nor wanted. I won't be queen of Crystal Tokyo, I wont have anything to do with the politics of this planet, and I won't be involved with what you do here. I'm going to restore and return to my own kingdom and leave you in peace here. The senshi, should they chose, will return with me. I just wanted to inform you that this is the decision that I have come to."

"I see," he said. "I didn't expect that you would take this course of action."

"Endymion," she said softly. "Tell me, why did you ever agree to be my husband?"

Endymion leaned forward, looking directly into her eyes. "Serenity, when we were young, we were both so taken by our memories of the past that we didn't know how we felt. You were sweet and you were beautiful and I thought that that would be enough. You needed me to support you and I accepted that task. It just grew to be too much for me. How could I say that I wanted something else, something more, when to do so would have meant the lose of your confidence? Or worse, the lose of the battle? We needed you and you needed me. I wanted you to be happy, Serenity."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that you were unhappy?" She asked.

Endymion sighed. "Honestly, I didn't know what to say to you. Mercury thought that I was just too stressed and only told me to take it easy, but Mars, she could see that I was unhappy. She tried to help and I saw that her fire was what I needed. Passion and strength was what I needed. You are a lovely woman, Serenity, but you are too soft and too sweet. I couldn't approach you, and then I didn't know how, and then... I simply found that as long as we continued our duties, nothing else mattered."

"Love and loyalty matter," she said.

"So does strength and passion. I needed that more."

"What about what I needed, Endymion?"

Endymion walked over to her, taking to one knee and taking her hand in his own. "My beautiful, my lovely, Neo Queen, I am willing to support you, if you need support. I am willing lay beside you at night; I am willing to give you my arms, should you want their warmth; my shoulder, should you wish to cry; my ear, if you wish to talk; my aid in any battle or political conflict that should arise; but I am no longer able to give you singular claim to my heart and I can no longer say 'I love you' with the earnest that once it held."

She stared down at him with sad eyes, wanting to clutch onto the hand that held hers. All good things, he offered. All things that she wanted, but not what what she most needed. Not what she most wanted. She took her hand from him and whispered. "This shall be the end. What will you tell them?"

"Whatever I have to, Serenity," his eyes were still cold, but she felt differently about them now. It wasn't that he was more distant from her, but that he always had been and she was only now able to see it. "Keep in touch, Serenity," he said to her.

She did not sense any hurt in him. No resentment, no sadness, no regret. _'Perhaps,'_ she thought, _'It is better that he is so distant. It will make it easier to break away from him and easier to deal with him later.'_

Without further ado, she took leave of him. He remained in place a moment longer, whispering to himself, "Farewell, my queen."

* * *

 

Serenity returned to the Moon before calling to Diamond again. He was at her side within minutes, teleporting right beside her. She was leaning against one of the outside pillars of the palace, which was standing and restored, not quiet to perfection, but very close. She looked at him before speaking.

"I spoke with them today," he told him. "Endymion and Mars... and the other senshi."

"How did it go?" He asked her.

"I feel... better," Serenity admitted. "I told them how I felt. I told them that I intended to leave, that I was not going to remain involved with their affairs. I don't really know what I'm going to do, though. I have no people, now. No kingdom. Just an empty palace."

"I don't think that's such a bad thing," Diamond told her, leaning down beside her. "Right now, you are free Serenity. You are only obligated to your heart and to yourself. You do not have to worry about anyone else."

Serenity smiled softly, looking away. "Diamond," she said. "This... may be unfair of me, but... may I make a request of you?"

"Certainly," he answered without hesitation.

"You have been very kind to me, ever since I first met you on Nemesis. And I... I care about you very deeply." Serenity blushed as she looked back to him, meeting his eyes. "I could not say so before. Not with so much weighing on my mind, not with so many things unresolved, but now... I want to say it. Prince Diamond," She rose onto her knees and faced him, moving close enough that not an arm's length was between them. "I have fallen in love with you."

Diamond's eyes widened and he responded immediately. "I love you, Serenity." He moved to place a hand upon her cheek and she placed her own over it.

"I want to ask you, though it may be selfish of me. Please, just for this night, would you stay here with me?"

Diamond was unable to contain himself. He pulled her into is arms and whispered. "I would enjoy nothing more than to stay with you." They moved as one as their lips pressed together. It was a long and slow kiss that deepened gradually. Diamond's arms were tight around her waist and Serenity's arms wrapped around him with the same intensity. When they pulled apart finally, Diamond pressed is forehead to hers. "I don't want you to regret this," He said.

"I won't," She told him. "What I would regret is not taking this time with you while I have it." She rested in his arms a moment longer before she breathed out, "Let's go inside, Diamond."

"Whatever you wish, Serenity," He said to her, standing and taking her hand to help her to her feet, as well. Her eyes sparkled with emotion and his held the intensity of his own feelings. Love was reflected in both gazes. Slowly, perhaps even nervously, Serenity lead Diamond into the palace and into her chambers.

* * *

 

Serenity had no way to tell the time when she first woke. She left her room to find Saturn kneeling outside her door, Glaive in hand and head bowed. "My Queen, it is good to see you well."

Serenity startled at the sight. "Hota... Saturn, what are you doing here?"

"You have taken your throne here, haven't you, my queen?" Saturn question.

"But how... did you know that?" Serenity questioned.

Saturn smiled, raising her head to look at Serenity. "Pluto is here, also, just as she was in Crystal Tokyo. She wanted to be certain that I told you that."

"So you've spoken... and she is here, as well," Serenity said in something of a flat tone, her surprise waning. "The two of you never seem to change. You always know something that I do not."

"You do not have to worry about anything, your majesty," Saturn told her. "Here and now, I swear myself to you. To your rule and to your kingdom."

"Saturn, you need not-" She began, but the senshi of silence continued.

"I want to, your majesty," Saturn told her sincerely. "You are vulnerable on the moon, with no guard in an unfurnished kingdom. I do not imagine that you have much certainty, Serenity, but if I can only do one thing for you, princess, let it be this. Let me be a small point of certainty. Let me protect you. Let me... Let me be your friend, Serenity."

Serenity stared at Saturn a long time, eyes slowly watering, expression faltering, until she finally fell to her knees and embraced Saturn, crying in earnest as the youngest senshi comforted her. "So much..." She whispered. "I missed you so much!"

Letting her weapon fall to the ground, Saturn returned the embrace. "I wanted to comfort you so much over these last years, Usagi. You've been trying so hard and doing so much. I want to do something for you. Never forget," She began to whisper. "For all of us, you were our friend before you were ever our princess or our queen."

* * *

 

Pluto, from her position at the Time Gates, watched this with a smile. She could see something finally beginning to heal inside her princess. A bit of strength returning. A bit of the weight lifted and she inwardly sighed in relief. Even she hated when her princess despaired. Even she wanted to do something to help her princess smile.

But her fate was written. She had a duty. A stationary, solitary duty, but one that she would fulfill nonetheless.

"What can you see, Pluto?" Queen Selenity asked, standing behind her in the mist as she gazed through the gateway. "The end of my kingdom? The end of the world? Your one true love?"

"Majesty!" Pluto turned to her in objection with reddened cheeks. "I do not look for such things."

"You do not have to look for such things to find them," The queen replied.

Pluto turned away from the other woman. "You seem to be in good spirits, my queen."

"I am," she replied. "The question is, are you doing as well, Atropos?"

"As well or not as always," Pluto replied.

Queen Selenity pouted a bit. "You will not even talk with me about your mood?"

A small smile tugged at her lips. "I am... happy, my queen."

Queen Selenity smiled with much regalia and nearly as much joy as her daughter often displayed. "Then stay that way a while. I worry about you."

"Do not worry over me. You made a good choice when you decided to place me here, my queen."

"I have always hoped so," The queen whispered.


	14. Darling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first scene of this chapter takes place during after Serenity and Diamond went off together during the last chapter, everything else happens after the end of the last chapter.

There was something natural, something peaceful, about leading Diamond though the halls of her empty palace. No one was around to interrupt them. Nothing was in their way. They were alone and it felt good. It felt right. She led him into the room she had chosen to be her own, a large chamber that suited a queen, and closed the door. Diamond immediately gathered her face in his hands and kissed her.

Serenity blushed furiously as he held her close, lips pressed hard to her own. When they pulled away, he whispered, "Forgive my abruptness, Serenity, but I had to know... I had to know if this was real."

Her cheeks were still red as she met his eyes and answered. "It's real," she told him. "I'm real."

He held her tightly and she let herself relax into his arms. After a few moments she pulled away. She moved to the bed and sat on its edge, holding out her hand to him. "Diamond," she said. "Join me."

There was a light in his eyes as he approached. Something that screamed of awe and excitement and love and so much more that she couldn't name. He held her hand in his own and took to one knee, pressing his lips to her smooth flesh. He rubbed his cheek against it, nuzzling her wrist, before pressing more kisses to it, moving up her arm and closer to her body. He stopped when, still kneeling, his body was right before hers on the bed, lips pressed into the crook of her arms. He looked up at her, waiting for her word, her command, before making another action.

She leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his and running her hand through his hair. She moved her fingers across his cheek in a caress, then slid them over his lips. "Diamond," she whispered. "I am a queen of nothing. I have renounced the Earth. I have nothing on the Moon. I may be known as the woman that abandoned her home, the one Endymion discarded." Her fingers trailed lightly to his neck. "I have little to offer you. Little reason for you to court me, were your people to ask. I... may be ahead of myself..." She trailed off and tried to withdraw her hand, but he caught it.

He held her hand tight in his, looking at her sternly. "You are queen of my heart," he told her. "You are the woman that gave my planet aid. Of all the planets, only you deigned to help me. My people would welcome you in a heartbeat if you were to come to us. And as for courting you..." He laced his finger through hers. "I love you, Serenity. That is all the reason that I need to court you. You are not out of line for thinking beyond this night. If you want me to court you, if you want to come to Nemesis, all you have to do is say the words, and it can be so. We can plan out our courtship, our lives, this night, if you please. But believe me when I tell you that you have everything to offer me, by offering me yourself. Your heart. Your love."

"I know not what I will do beyond this night," she said. "I do not know what will happen between you and I. There is so much to consider. If not for myself, then for you."

"Do not mistake my planet for caring so deeply about rumor and politics."

"So much could come up, Diamond," Serenity said. "I want you by my side. I want to be by your side. I do not know what that means yet for us."

"Whatever we make it mean," he told her. "I mean every word that I say, Serenity. You move my heart and you move me."

Serenity reached out to hold his face in both her hands. She pressed her forehead to his, then moved her cheek to press against his own, finally touching his lips softly with hers. Her hands moved down his shoulders and to the front of his jacket, where she began to unbutton it. "You have heard me so often despair," she whispered. "Do you even know who I can be when I am not  so burdened?"

Her hands paused on the button she was on. "Not yet," she said. Releasing him she stood and took a step away from the bed. "There is still something that you don't know." She turned her back to him and after a moment, the fabric of her gown began to drop from her shoulders. "After tonight, Diamond, you shall know me very well."

His eyes were intent on her bare shoulders, watching as the fabric finally dropped from her her hands, leaving her back exposed. With his eyes, he traced the curve of her back and downward. She reached to her hair without turning to face him and slowly undid her hair until it fell straight down her back. When she turned to face him, she was without her under garments, completely bare for him. Her skin was lightly flushed, but she met his eyes easily, without embarrassment or shame. His eyes tried to be everywhere at once. He wanted to look into the intimate depths of her eyes, trace the curves of her breast and hips, admire the simple beauty of her exposed arms and legs.

"We have time," she whispered. She waited as his eyes roamed all over her, until he finally seemed to realized that she was right. They did have time. There was no kingdom here to need them, to interrupt them.

Starting from the top, he slowly looked over her entire body. He felt frozen in place by how beautiful she was. Once again, she held her hand out to him. He rose, removing and discarding his earrings as he did so, loosening his tie as he approached. He didn't take her hand. He moved close to her and her hands slid over the front of his suit. Discarding the loosened fabric that was his tie and unfastening the remaining buttons. She slid the jacket off of him and he removed the shirt after. Her hands slid down his shoulders and to his chest, down his chest and to his stomach, down his stomach to hover at the waistband of his pants. He could feel the uncertainty in her and he drew he close.

She gasped and he felt a slight tremble down his spine, as her soft uncovered body was pressed to his own. He moved his hands down her back, slowly wrapping them around her thin waist, reveling in the feeling. Her hands moved up his back to rest on his shoulder blades, holding him close as well. She leaned up to his lips and he met hers in a lingering kiss.

They ended up on the bed after that, Serenity pressed into the sheets underneath him. They still kissed heatedly, lips locked and tongues tangling. His hand caught her hair, playing with the long golden strands and she simply clung to him.

"You're so soft, Serenity," he whispered between kisses.

She smiled and replied, "Your arms are strong." Her fingers began to trace along his back and he made a contented sound at her touch. His lips moved along her cheek to her ear, from her ear to her neck. Her breath caught as he planted soft kisses along her neck to her collar bone. Her eyes closed as she let the pleasant sensations flood over her, hands tangling in his hair. Slowly, he moved his lips down her chest until finally he planted a kiss on the raised bud of her nipple. She gasped, grabbing onto him a little tighter. He kissed it again. Once more. Then he moved to the other, planting kisses before his tongue lightly lapped at it.

"Diamond," she whispered softly and he could feel her legs move restlessly beneath him. He slid one leg between hers as he moved closer to her, his lips and tongue lightly caressing her nipple. Soft, breathy gasp began to arise from Serenity. One of his hands gently caressed her hip before stroking her thigh. Her pants became heavier and her body lightly trembled. "Diamond," she said again.

Her hands moved to the side of his face, tugging him higher. He followed her pull, kissing a path upward as she guided him along her neck and then to her lips. His hand on her thigh continued it's path, stroking her and kneading its way up her inner thigh. Serenity parted her legs, granting him access to her sensitive areas and he kissed her deeply as he cupped her core. He let out a shuddering breath as he felt her heat in the palm of his hand and she moaned quietly.

He gently trailed a finger along her lower lips, lightly parting them and touching her growing wetness. She gasped, her lips breaking away from his. He buried his head in her neck and mumbled. "You are so soft, Serenity. So warm... so wet."

Her hands clutched onto him again. "Diamond," she said once more, opening her legs wider still. "Touch me." It was the barest of whispers. A plea. Pressing his finger up and into her core, he was rewarded with feeling more heat, more wetness. He stroked up and down her parted lips, stroking along her slit and causing her body to tense and tighten. His hand slid away from her core, along her thigh to her hip and then up to her breast. He gently fondled her, nuzzling her neck, encouraging her to make her own action.

Meeting his eyes for a moment, both pairs reflecting love and lust, her hands moved to his pants. She looked down as she undid the buttons and tugged them down, and he moved to pull them and what was left of his clothing, off. Her eyes did not stray from the hardened member as her hands wrapped around it softly, stroking and fondling him as he was doing to her. This did not go on long, though. She leaned up to his ear and whispered. "Allow me," she said. "Lay down."

He did so without breaking his gaze from hers, the taut flesh of his aroused organ standing tall. Serenity moved over him, pressing her forehead to his and looking into his eyes. She smiled and then her eyes dropped to the place between their bodies. She took hold of his hard member and she moved herself in place over it. Slowly, she lowered her body onto his member, onto him, closing her eyes as the feeling washed over her. Her body trembled and Diamond took hold of her hips as she moaned. She took a few deep breaths as she settled completely onto him, before rising and lowering herself again.

"So good," she whispered, moving steadily.

"Serenity," he groaned out, hands tight on her hips. Tighter than he would have normally dared, had he not been so distracted. But he loved the feeling of her hips beneath his hands, of her walls tightly latched onto him. He loved the sight of her above him, framed by the seemingly endless golden hair, eyes lost to lust. And he loved the look on her face as he pushed up into her, unexpectedly breaking her rhythm.

She cried out, and he definitely loved that. He did it again and again. Serenity threw her head back as she adjusted her movements to match his, slamming herself down as he pushed up. The wetness and heat that surrounded him was maddening and the way Serenity was gripping onto him, he could tell she felt the same.

It was good to look at her. To watch her. To touch her and hear her and taste her. He drew one of her hands to his lips and lightly licked at one of her fingers, just to indulge himself and she hummed in pleasure. Yes, all of this was so much better than anything he could have imagined.

Serenity managed a breathy laugh, which caught his attention. She smiled, still panting with pleasure, as she spoke. "Your eyes..." she said between gasp. "You love this."

"Yes," he answered. "So much."

Serenity's eyes sparkled and she slammed onto him harder, tightening around him, and he couldn't stand it anymore. He groaned and shuddered as he released inside her, and she made a sound of surprise as her own orgasm seized hold of her.

His arms wrapped around her back and pulled her close and she let out a contented sigh. Her head on his chest, she whispered, "This is all of me, Diamond. This is everything."

His only answer was to pull her closer, lifting her chin so that their lips could come together in a kiss.

* * *

 

Mercury considered herself the most practical of all the senshi. When presented with difficult situations, she was the one that could remain calm enough to think things through and plan the best course of action. Usagi was the one that got to cry, Mars was the one that got to be mad, Jupiter was impulsive, Venus was determined, and Mercury got to plan.

At least, it used to be that way. Now Serenity was a queen and she didn't get to cry or laugh, it was too improper. She couldn't smile or frown for fear of telling too much with her expression. And Mercury hadn't noticed. She was suppose to be the one to notice things, the one to think things through, and yet she never considered the consequences of Usagi becoming a queen. She never considered that anything could bring her princess down. She thought that Usagi was invincible. She had bounced back from so much, overcome so many obstacles, lifted them up with her.

Her princess was not invincible. Mercury was not so observant. They were all normal girls and they all had weaknesses, could all miss things. Over the years of being a senshi first, she began to forget these things. That they had once been normal girls, not warriors, not a queen. They were the perfect forms of themselves, as she had begun to believe.

She wanted to cry for having such a misunderstanding thrown in her face. Mars' blatant attitude and Serenity's obvious sorrow, Jupiter's anger and Venus' quiet acquiescence. She wanted to cry on behalf of her princess turned queen. She, too, had believed in the fairytale come true. The princess gets her prince, gets her kingdom, gets her crown. She wanted Usagi to be happy. She wanted to be able to look at the smiling face of her friend and know that what they had spent two lifetimes fighting for had finally come true. Not only peace, but happiness. She had believed and it hurt to have that belief shattered.

Mercury wanted to cry, but she didn't have time. She had to help her princess in someway. Serenity did not know what she would do, but she'd already made a decision, hadn't she? Serenity had decided on the moon and while her princess- her queen- did not have a plan, Mercury would create one for her. That was suppose to be her purpose, after all. The one that thought things through.

She spent a long time typing away on the main computer of the control room. She had to redirect supply ships, she had to create new orders and give them coordinates. She rearranged schedules so that some ships left slightly later and others a little sooner. A kingdom, even a kingdom of one, had needs. Mercury would take care of those needs. There was only so much that the Ginzuishou could do. Even if it restored everything that the moon had once been, there was much to be considered in the way of maintenance. She couldn't do everything herself, she knew, but there was enough that she could do to keep herself from thinking about that. She had to make up for her failure. For Mars' failure. After all, she hadn't noticed anything was odd with either of her friends. She'd been too caught up in her own world and she had to make up for that.

She wanted to make other arrangements. Arrangements for workers and servants, call upon favors and make commands, take advantage of her rank and position to aid Serenity, but she wouldn't do that just yet. She did not know if Serenity was prepared to take care of the needs of others. As much help as it would be, it could so easily turn into a burden.

She gathered together the files that she had worked on over the years. Any information that she had worked on, transferring all private files so that they would no longer be on any of Earth's computers and copying all of her research that had been made public. She was very thorough and it was very late by the time she had finished making such arrangements.

* * *

 

Saphir was hesitant as he entered his father's throne room. King Jasper sat upon his throne in quiet contemplation, the form of the Phantom floating at his flank. Saphir did not like to interrupt his father often. The King was worried about relations with the other planets, trying to keep his people healthy with how little food stores they had, the cold harsh surface unsuitable for growing much, and how to make his people happy under such circumstances. Saphir was about to leave, deciding his inquiry was unimportant and not wanting to break his father's concentration, but the Phantom spoke before he could go.

"Prince Saphir, unusual to see you here."

King Jasper looked up at that, only now noticing his son. "Saphir? Did you need something son?"

"I was only wondering if Diamond had been here," Saphir answered. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Nor have I," Jasper said. "Perhaps Emerald or Rubeus know where he has gone. He has been disappearing often lately." Jasper frowned at the thought, wondering what his son had been up to.

"He seems to spend much time with the Neo Queen," the Phantom offered. "Perhaps that is where he has gone."

"He does seem to be spending an unusual amount of time in her company recently," Saphire contemplated aloud.

"Suspicious, I would think."

"Diamond has made the Neo Queen our ally," King Jasper stated. "There is nothing to be suspicious over."

"She has offered us much and asked little in return," the Phantom said. "It does not benefit her to do so unless there is something that she is getting in return. We cannot provide her with supplies of our own, she has asked for no trades, and yet the prince is spending an increasingly large amount of time in her company. What sort of service do you believe she could be wrangling from him?"

King Jasper frowned at the implication, but Saphir spoke up. "I've spoken with the Neo Queen. She seemed kindly to me. It is likely nothing more than a social calling."

"Recently the prince has opened a dialogue with Saturn," the Phantom told them. "Would this not be an influence of the Neo Queen? And why would he not mention to us, if it were for political reasons?"

"What are you implying, Phantom?" Saphir questioned harshly.

"I am only summarizing facts, young prince," The Phantom said in a relenting tone.

"We will question him about it when he returns," Jasper decided. "I am certain he will have a satisfactory explanation and there will be nothing more to it. You think too harshly of the other planets, Phantom."

The Phantom's attention was elsewhere and he stared past the doorway, though neither could tell with the cloak obscuring his features. He replied distracted as he watched the concealed Emerald teleport away from her spying position. "I would not underestimate the other planets, your majesty."

That was the end of the conversation, however, as Saphir took his leave and the King returned to his solemn contemplation. The Phantom, however, did not remain where he had been. Dismissing himself from his king's side, the advisor thought it time he pay a visit to the prince's personal guardian.

* * *

 

Once Serenity had calmed down, she gathered Saturn and Diamond into the room that she'd chosen for her study. The youngest senshi smiled at the prince, holding her weapon away in a non-threatening position. "It is good to see you, Prince of Nemesis. It has been a while."

Prince Diamond bowed, taking her hand and pressing his lips to the back of it in a polite kiss. "Should I address you as a warrior or as a princess?"

"Both," Saturn replied. "I am used to being called by my title, but since you seem to be so well acquainted with my queen, my name is Hotaru."

Serenity blushed as Saturn gave her a sly look. Prince Diamond smiled at her. "It is nice to see you once more, Princess Hotaru."

The Neo Queen tried not to stutter in embarrassment as she claimed their attention once more. "I wanted to share something with you both."

"About yourself and the prince?" Saturn questioned.

"Not exactly," Serenity said, refusing to let the teasing make her turn more red than she already was. Her eyes went to Diamond's as she continued. "This is about your people, Diamond. You may be hesitant to believe me, but... I believe that there is something wicked about your father's advisor."

"My father's advisor?" Diamond repeated.

"It is... a complicated matter to explain how it is that I know," Serenity began in a hesitant voice. "In the future, he took us by complete surprise when he attacked and there were many casualties and much war. I've... come back... so that I may correct my previous errors."

"Come back..." Diamond repeated. "You mean, to the past. You've come through time?"

"Yes," Serenity answered.

Saturn took this in stride. She knew what Pluto could do, after all, knew about the gates of space and time. Not many did, so Serenity was not surprised by the confused look on Diamond's face. She was a little surprised at what he chose to ask her, though.

"When?" he questioned. "At what point were you... the person that I know?"

"Since my first visit to all the planets," she told him. "It was... hazy, at first. I thought it to be a dream, of sorts. I had new memories of the things that were happening here and... I wanted for it to be no more than a dream. But I've come to terms with the truth and I don't want things to repeat any longer."

"What has repeated?" He questioned.

Serenity let a small, despairing laugh escape her. "Though it happened differently, Endymion and Mars are the same as ever. You are... just as kind as you were the first time. Things have, of course, begun to deviate. It was... years and years before the Phantom made any sign of attack. I do not want to wait that long."

"I was entwined with you before, as well?"

"You were very kind to me, as you are now. However, it was only during the duress of the Phantom's attacks that we... dared to dream, as it were. It came mostly to naught, though. One tragedy after another, one heartbreak following another disaster."

Saturn reached out for Serenity's hand, smiling at her, but giving her a serious look at the same time. "We have warning, now. We can change things. Tell us everything, Serenity, and we can help. We can move quietly so he is not alerted or alarmed, and if we know what moves he made before, we can cut him off certain avenues."

Serenity looked to Diamond, imploringly. The Prince sighed. "I do not want to doubt you, Serenity, but it is a shock to think that my father's advisor plots so. For you, I am willing to look into this and I will keep silent, so as not to upset his movements, but I will need a bit more proof before I can believe such a thing."

"I understand." The queen nodded.

"Now, tell us everything," Saturn said, and Serenity proceeded to do so.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone finds any errors or inconsistencies please let me know, and if you like this story, have a question or a concern, please leave a comment.
> 
> (This is a revision. More chapters of this can be found of ff.net. Same story title and author, if you are impatient or so inclined.)


End file.
